Shy.
It's a shy word, a timid little word that begs to remain unnoticed. Only three letters long, and itbegins with an exhortation to silence. Shhh. Reserved is different. It's for tall men with juttingjaws. Prime ministers can appear reserved- never shy. Restrained carries itself with dignity.
Even introvert has a whiff of authority about it- these people have been tested; Myers and Briggshave awarded them an impressive three-syllable psychological label. But with shy there's noauthority, no control. It's a blushing, hunching word; a nervous, knock-kneed, wallflower word. Aword for children, not grown-ups, because surely grown-ups grow out of shyness. Don't they?
Sian Prior has maintained a career in the public eye, as a broadcaster and performer, for morethan twenty years. For far longer than that she has suffered from excruciating shyness.
Eventually, after bolting from a party in a state of near-panic, she decides to investigate hercondition. What is it-shyness? Where did hers come from? Why does it create such distressingturmoil beneath her assured professional front?
As Sian begins to research the science of social anxiety, other factors present themselves asfacets of the problem. Family, intimate friendships, self-perception and fear and longing and theconsequences of love... While, in counterpoint, there is the security, the sense of belonging, shefinds in the life she shares with Tom, her famous partner. Until he tells her he is leaving.
Shy- A Memoir-frank, provocative, remarkable in its clarity and beautifully written-is a bookabout unease- about questioning who you are and evading the answer. It is about grief, andabandonment and loss. It is about how the simple word shy belies the complex reality of whatthat really means.