I Invented the Gap Year

A story of youthful discovery and adventure. Physically, a circumnavigation of the world before the Internet, before mobile phones, and before credit cards. Emotionally, the journey was equally long and tortuous. Humour, laughter, friendship, and sex at times offset by sadness and disappointment. Encountering both success and failure in more or less equal measure. At twenty I was struggling with life having failed at school, screwed up my first job, and lost my girlfriend.

I was lonely and could see no light at the end of the tunnel.

Would moving away from the grey austerity of early 1960s England with its censorious sexual attitudes and repressive, deferential class structure allow me to find a better life?You bet it would!Taking risks and venturing into the unknown, a year of travel introduced me to an exciting, hedonistic lifestyle in New York and taught me how to make friends and find love.

By the time I reached the wonders of the Far East the pendulum had swung too far.

The shy, courteous young man I had been, now alarmingly came off the rails.

Hitting a crisis point I did not like the person I had become.

Now it was necessary to re-evaluate what really mattered in life - what was worthwhile - what held true value? What sort of person did I want to be - and what lifestyle would I choose for myself?