Just like everyone else, James found that he was going through something at the age of 12. But unlike everyone else, what was happening to James forced him to cut off ties with his friend, drop out of school with no qualifications to his name, and be housebound for the next ten years. For a while, James was unable to name what had defined his experience of life for so long but after coming in contact with a mental health charity, he learnt just what it was: Social Anxiety Disorder.

Author Biography

James Cavell has lived most of his life at an arm's length, never letting anyone or anything too close. At just 12 years old, he began to develop a deep-seated fear of other people, which would be diagnosed a full 10 years later as Social Anxiety Disorder. Eventually unable to function around others, he was forced to leave school early with next to no qualifications. Soon after, he confined himself to the house and that was the last the world would see of him for more than eight years. Finally found by a small mental health charity, they helped to restore life to a man that had faded away long ago, reawakening a dormant writing ability along the way. Now, 20 years after it all began, James is working to carefully rebuild his life and break free from social anxiety.