My memoir Don’t Be So Sensitive! explores some dark themes. It was only when I was writing the book that I came to realise – OMG – everyone in my family attended boarding school and they’re all screwed-up!! It was an amazing discovery.
Almost everyone in my family went to boarding school. My mother boarded from the age of 8. She was bullied badly and developed a drink problem in adulthood.
My stepfather also went to boarding school from a similar age. He was also bullied and became very embittered and angry. Ironically, he never ceased wanting the same for me – probably to get me out of the house!
My two half-brothers also boarded from the age of about 9. Both became alcoholics.
I thought I’d escaped boarding school because I attended private schools as a day boy. But in a way I was wrong. My memoir explores the subtle ways the boarding school experience affected my mother’s psychology, paving the way for my annual seasonal abandonment.
Available here.