Life, Interrupted: The Memoir of a Nearly Person

by JamesMcConnel (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2006

  $3.31

  James McConnel always felt like a 'nearly' person. Alienated and bullied at school, playing music was the only time James felt in control. But as his piano playing skills developed, so did a bewildering array of strange compulsions. Initially the jerking, coughing, grunting, repeating, tapping, sniffing and counting, was dismissed as a funny little habit . But it was clearly much more than that. Growing up, he had dreams of becoming a concert pianist, and he secured a place at the Royal College of Music. But the bittersweet discovery that drinking temporarily stopped his twitches saw him slip into alcoholism. Aged thirty-two, James was finally diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome and at long last, began to understand himself. He still has tics and obsessive routines but his attitude to these has altered dramatically. He is happy. Touching, humorous and intimate, Life, Interrupted is the astonishing story of one man's journey to self-acceptance.

• Used

  Paperback
  2006

  $3.31

  Growing up as 'a percussive child', James McConnel describes life in a family overshadowed by the tragic death of his sister. He finds some solace in his talent for piano playing but gradually comes to realise that the incontrollable sniffs, coughs, and faces might not just be a 'funny little habit' or 'just a phase' but a need, a compulsion to be satisfied until it 'feels just right'. An inspirational music teacher nurtures his gift for the piano but a moped accident dramatically quashes his dreams of becoming a concert pianist. Passion, resilience and luck combine to win him a coveted place at the Royal College of Music but irrepressible shouts and jerks, difficult relationships and alcoholism see him abandon this course, unable to shake feelings of inadequacy and freakishness and of being a 'nearly' person. At the age of 32, he was finally diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome and was at long last able to understand his twitches and obsessions, and feel comfortable in his own skin. LIFE, INTERRUPTED is written with an intimacy, immediacy and humour that shows James McConnel as the endearing, charming larger-than-life character that he is.