Bloomsbury Home
- Home
- NON-FICTION
- Biography & Memoir
- Might Bite
This product is usually dispatched within 10 business days
- Delivery and returns info
-
Flat rate of $10.00 for shipping anywhere in Australia
You must sign in to add this item to your wishlist. Please sign in or create an account
Description
'An electrifying account of gambling addiction ... compelling' - The Times
'Searingly honest ... should be in the hands of anyone who has eyed a bet' - Daily Mail
'A remarkable piece of work' - The Cricketer
With a foreword by Marcus Trescothick.
For more than 12 years, Patrick Foster lived a double life. Turning 31, a popular and sociable young teacher and former professional cricketer, he had a lovely girlfriend and a supportive family. But he was hiding a secret and debilitating gambling addiction from even those closest to him.
Huge bets had led to huge debts, thousands of lies, and consequences for his mental health that pushed him to the edge of the platform at Slough station, where he was moments from taking his own life in March 2018.
That month Patrick had turned a £30 bet into £28,000, then lost £50,000 on a single horse, Might Bite, in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, watching the race in a silent classroom as his students undertook a mock exam in front of him. In his desperation, he had taken out every possible loan, and borrowed money from family, friends and even the parents of children he taught. Although his life was unravelling around him, he could not stop.
You might think that this is just one man's story. But problem gambling affects one in 200 people in the UK alone. Hundreds lose their lives annually as a result. The industry is worth more than £14 billion.
Might Bite is a shocking, cautionary tale of just how easy it is to fall victim to the insidious lure of 'winning big'. And of how recovery is possible from the depths of addiction, no matter how inescapable it seems.
Table of Contents
March 2018
October 2006
June 2007
January 2010
August 2011
July 2012
October 2014
January 2016
December 2016
March 2017
August 2017
January 2018
March 2018
At the time of writing
Reflections from recovery
References
Acknowledgements
Product details
Published | 03 May 2022 |
---|---|
Format | Hardback |
Edition | 1st |
Extent | 256 |
ISBN | 9781472992130 |
Imprint | Bloomsbury Sport |
Dimensions | 216 x 135 mm |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
-
Powerful ... electrifying ... compelling … challenges deep-seated class assumptions about gambling ... [which is] still regarded as a problem for poor people, for losers. You only have to read Foster's unflinching account of entitlement, self-hatred and degradation to know that is the biggest lie of all.
Melanie Reid, The Times
-
[A] mesmerising, superbly written story of despair, decline and redemption ... Searingly honest ... compelling ... should be in the hands of anyone who has eyed a bet
Daily Mail
-
I don't think any book has gripped me like Might Bite.
Chris Evans
-
Gripping and harrowing ... enough to make any gambling enthusiast think carefully.
The Spectator
-
Reading of Foster's descent is itself compulsive
The i
-
An extraordinary story … vital stuff
Adrian Chiles, BBC Radio 5 Live