Bryony Kimmings and Tim Grayburn return to male depression

Bryony Kimmings and Tim Grayburn – whose comic-theatre show about depression Fake It 'Til You Make It was a fringe hit last year – have signed their first book deal.

The real-life couple will again explore the effect Graybur’s illness had on their relationship in Boys Don’t Cry, which is due out in August.

Six months into their relationship Kimmings discovered Graybur suffered from severe clinical depression and acute anxiety when she found tablets hidden in his backpack – a secret he had kept for nearly a decade because it made him feel both weak and shameful. 

Publishers Hodder & Stoughton say: ‘Boys Don't Cry is the story of a relationship in which one party sometimes wants to die. A book about deep love and depression written from both sides; the person with the illness and the person who supports them through it. A wickedly warming, brutally honest and heart-breaking tale about what it really takes to be a "real man", written by two people who decided that they wanted to change the world by no longer being silent.’

Grayburn is an advertising executive who had not performed before joining with performance artist and comedian Kimmings to work on Fake It 'Til You Make It. The show had  successful runs in Australia, Edinburgh and London last year.

Senior Hodder & Stoughton editor Briony Gowlett acquired world rights from Cath Gagon at Avalon. 

She said: ‘It’s a special thing to find two people so talented, honest and dead set on making positive change. Lucky for me – and soon readers of their book – Bryony and Tim exemplify all three of those qualities and I can’t wait to bring their story and message to a wider audience and give this subject the spotlight it deserves.’

In a statement the couple said: After tackling depression head on as a couple behind closed doors we made the life-changing decision to come clean and spill the details of the complexities of Tim's broken brain, and how we ensure our relationship survives, by making a theatre show and touring the world. 

‘This show, Fake It 'Til You Make It, has connected us with others who suffer silently. Encouraging them to stand up to the stigma, come to terms with their own mental health and live more honestly, and we hope the book will do the same for an even wider audience.’

<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Boys-Dont-Cry-story-depression/dp/1473636906/ref=as_sl_pc_ss_til?tag=chortlcouk&linkCode=w01&linkId=&creativeASIN=1473636906">Click here</a> to order the hardback of Boys Don’t Cry, due out on August 25, for £16.99. <a href="https://www.chortle.co.uk/shows/edinburgh_fringe_2015/f/24682/fake_it_til_you_make_it?review=4145">Here</a> is our review of Fake It 'Til You Make It, as well as its forthcoming tour dates.

Published: 21 Jan 2016