i have been in talks with steve soifer (who wrote the excellent book "shy bladder - your step by step guide to recovery", and is the chair of the International Paruresis Association).

six or so years ago just after i had set up this website and messageboard, steve suggested i write a book on parcopresis similar to his. however i felt i couldn´t do it at the time simply because the key chapter in his book on how to carry out graduated exposure to the problem (and thereby start your recovery) cannot be straightforwardly applied to parcopresis.

now six years later, i feel ready to write the book (which no doubt will need to be revised and updated as time goes on).

life is not fair, we would rather not have this ridiculous and painful problem. a curse which we silently endure and which eats away at our confidence and our joy.

i have shy bowel. i also have shy bladder. and i also have IBS (which can make my pooh and farts smelly, and the amount of farts excessive in the extreme, ...all of which further embarrasses my already shy bowel) i know how much these conditions can blight the enjoyment of life. however i can say with hand on heart that they no longer blight my life like they used to.

in my book i aim to pass on as much as i can about my recovery to other sufferers of parcopresis to help them in their recovery.

i believe that recovery is possible for each of us (though our route to it may vary and the timescale may vary in its rapidity).

i was going to write the book first and then announce it on the messageboard. however, time has gone on by, the summer is nearly over and i still haven´t begun it. why? mainly because i am having so much fun enjoying my new found freedom. as i write, i am in spain crewing on a two man yacht, something i never thought i would be able to do because of my toilet phobias and IBS.

so i write now that i will shortly begin writing the book, with the aim of sealing my intent. the book will be an e-book initially, the target audience is people who suffer from parcopresis, the aim as already stated, is to aid sufferers of shy bowel in their recovery.

i will be using some people´s stories (or amalgamations of people´s stories) from the messageboard to illustrate how this condition can affect people. i will change names and locations of the people involved to protect people´s sense of anonymity (unless people reply saying that they don´t want me to change their details).

i will not use people´s stories if they specifically request that i do not use them (again by replying to this message)

finally: thank you to all the people who have posted on this board. thank you for sharing your stories, your feelings, and for being so candid and open. you have all helped me.

so, watch this space,

yours,
in service,

baz