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  • Avoidance, Drugs, Heartbreak and Dogs

  • By: Jordan Stephens
  • Narrated by: Jordan Stephens
  • Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (30 ratings)

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Avoidance, Drugs, Heartbreak and Dogs

By: Jordan Stephens
Narrated by: Jordan Stephens
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Summary

'Brutally honest as well as poetic' DOLLY ALDERTON
'Necessary, urgent and totally original' AFUA HIRSCH
'Essential reading for men of all ages' CALEB FEMI

Someone once asked me how I'd want to be remembered. I said, 'As the boy who grew.'

Love is a gift, isn’t it? From our early childhood years to growing up and pairing off, it’s a feeling we chase knowing we’re better off with it. But what if love is claustrophobic and conflicting? And what if at the same time we’re chasing addictions to drugs, drink, sex and chaos?

Diagnosed twice with ADHD, Jordan Stephens found his teens and twenties a whirl of career success and nurturing friendships but also a brutal pattern of self-harm, hedonism, destructive coping mechanisms and heartbreak. When he tried to live up to his own damaged expectations and his world exploded, he stepped away from his previous existence completely and allowed himself to explore the pain he’d repressed his entire life.

Unsparingly digging into the fear, tenderness and trauma he carried in his body and mind, and the confusing assumptions of what a young man should be, Jordan Stephens discovers what it means to be a modern man, why we should all open ourselves up to life, and how the price we pay for love in all its forms is worth it.
©2024 Jordan Stephens (P)2024 Canongate Books Ltd
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What listeners say about Avoidance, Drugs, Heartbreak and Dogs

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Wow….. listened to it in a day!

Raw. Refreshinly Honest, sometimes difficult to hear, but absolutely loved this book. I only wish the person that cheated on me and altered my ability to trust, felt a fraction of the regret and did the soul searching you did. 🙏🏼

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Honest and beautiful writing

Jordan's writing is littered with lyricism which helps to bring to life the emotional journey he has been on. He speaks about his struggles and mistakes and in an honest and hopeful way. He shows the the reality that fame and fortune often only amplifies the best and worst parts of you, rather than solves them.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

helpful, moving and fast paced

Jordan Stephens I'd a refreshing voice returning to our lives. he reads with candidness, doesn't code switch but keeps himself sounding like himself. as a result it's a fast paced ADHD tinged listen but it's intoxicating and was very interesting. it's helped shape my mindset the last week and I wish there was more.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A brilliant and brave journey into the mind of a young man

I’m not the target audience for this book. An older, recovering from anxious attachment woman, I rolled my eyes at Jordan’s behaviour early in the book. But this was a journey into the self. And what a journey. What courage to eviscerate oneself, and then do it again in public in the pages of a book. Towards the end I realised with shock that my discomfort was in how unusual it still is to really listen to the whole of a man’s heart. The good, bad and ugly. I hope we as a society can learn to hold space for our men to do this. I think we will all benefit if we can. Thank you Jordan.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Masterpiece

A gem of a narration. The brisk pace might cause you to miss a few brilliant witty remarks, but that's part of the charm, as it makes a second listen even more worthwhile.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Raw, honest & heartwarming

I absolutely loved this raw, honest and heartwarming book.
Jordan Stephens is brilliantly honest and reflective. He takes us on a journey from boy to man through his growth and learning, pain and pleasure.
He reflects that he has at times been "obsessed- making it clear what I have been through, playing the victim".
He later reflects on an issue that resonates with many ADHDers where he asks his girlfriend to stop using passive aggression and be explicit in what she wants him to know, as a 'withdraw of affection, will destroy me'.
Absolutely love the ending too.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Clever,insightful,honest

This is such an easy and exciting listen it goes at a quick pace and has you engaged from start to finish. There are layers and meanings and has you thinking even when you finished chapters. Highly recommended.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Poetic

Relatable, Fast pasted, descriptive
Spoken with passion, listened to with interest
Laughted, cried, all of that

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding

An extremely thought provoking read I’m twice Jordan’s age and get what the story says. I really don’t think I would have at 31 but he’s lived a life already hence this thought provoking and intelligently written book.

Anyway I will relisten at some point as it’s worth it

Thank you

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Great book

really enjoyed every word and every sentence. wonderful. really feel that Jordan is an amazing male role model and ambassador for masculinity

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