Why I'm telling my story

I started writing a book — but I wasn't sure why I was writing it and for who's benefit? I am half way through and I am laying bare some very private struggles for the whole world to read. I started writing because I needed to make sense of what had happened to me but in doing so I hope it will reach people who are walking that path right now, or maybe it will resonate with someone for other reasons.

After years of working as a doctor, listening to other people’s stories, I was now on the other side of the consulting room — sick, scared, ashamed, and trying to understand how I’d lost my way. Writing became the only way I could begin to untangle it all. It became a cathartic exercise in self-healing.

At first, it was just notes — scraps of honesty that I’d never said out loud. But slowly, I realised that my story wasn’t just about addiction or medicine. It was about being human. About the impossible standards we hold ourselves to, the quiet pain so many of us carry, and the strength it takes to tell the truth — even to ourselves.

I’m writing because I believe that stories can heal — not just the writer, but anyone who reads and recognises themselves between the lines. I'm writing to connect with other people out there who may either know a similar story or find it useful in understanding more about addiction, mental health and how doctors get sick too.