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Scorpions: A Memoir
'A skilful, poetic and bleakly funny account of coping with a lifelong condition' – THE GUARDIAN
‘Absolutely extraordinary writing.’ – JAMES O'BRIEN
'So fantastic' – CHRIS EVANS
'Candid and compelling. A must-read.' – BRYONY GORDON
'Brilliantly readable.' – PATRICK MCGRATH
My mind is full of scorpions. A cerebral itch, impossible to scratch. I know these creatures well, but they know me better. They answer to another name, this nest of scorpions, the writhing black mass that lives inside my head…
For as long as Tuppence Middleton can remember, she has struggled with obsessive thoughts and compulsions. She visualises her OCD as scorpions inhabiting her mind, something to be hidden that impacts her life
Have I killed my cat?When was the last time that person in front of me vomited?How many people have touched this door handle since it was cleaned?Should I tap the outside of the airplane to save my loved ones from harm?
Often used as a shorthand for tidiness or as the punchline of a joke, OCD is one of society’s most misunderstood disorders and it’s rarely spoken about with such honesty and openness.
In this beautifully written, moving and often darkly funny memoir, Tuppence recounts what it feels like to share your mind with a nest of scorpions.
'A fantastic memoir . . . Scorpions is intensely personal, yet somehow manages to be universal' – JOHN ROBINS
'There isn’t a page that won’t leave you with greater understanding and empathy' – JANET ELLIS
'Brilliantly immersive, funny, and brave' – LISA OWENS
‘Absolutely extraordinary writing.’ – JAMES O'BRIEN
'So fantastic' – CHRIS EVANS
'Candid and compelling. A must-read.' – BRYONY GORDON
'Brilliantly readable.' – PATRICK MCGRATH
My mind is full of scorpions. A cerebral itch, impossible to scratch. I know these creatures well, but they know me better. They answer to another name, this nest of scorpions, the writhing black mass that lives inside my head…
For as long as Tuppence Middleton can remember, she has struggled with obsessive thoughts and compulsions. She visualises her OCD as scorpions inhabiting her mind, something to be hidden that impacts her life
Have I killed my cat?When was the last time that person in front of me vomited?How many people have touched this door handle since it was cleaned?Should I tap the outside of the airplane to save my loved ones from harm?
Often used as a shorthand for tidiness or as the punchline of a joke, OCD is one of society’s most misunderstood disorders and it’s rarely spoken about with such honesty and openness.
In this beautifully written, moving and often darkly funny memoir, Tuppence recounts what it feels like to share your mind with a nest of scorpions.
'A fantastic memoir . . . Scorpions is intensely personal, yet somehow manages to be universal' – JOHN ROBINS
'There isn’t a page that won’t leave you with greater understanding and empathy' – JANET ELLIS
'Brilliantly immersive, funny, and brave' – LISA OWENS
170 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 27, 2025
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477 people want to read
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November 29, 2024A memoir about living, coping, and (for the most part) overcoming OCD. With unpretentious prose, Tuppence Middleton illuminates how devastating and all-encompassing this illness can be. Unflinchingly frank, and remarkably honest. This memoir, which starts with what Middleton suspects might be the cause of her OCD, details her rituals and obsessions, which must have been incredibly difficult to write about. I learnt a lot, and in a way that made me feel huge compassion for this horrible illness.
May 19, 2025
I have a family member who has OCD. He has lost jobs, a marriage, and even time with his young son because of it. It is a terrible thing. Which is why I get inwardly upset when people say they have OCD, and laugh, just because they keep a clean and tidy house.
However, Tuppence Middleton managed to make me chuckle while detailing her life living with OCD, due to her relatable style and humour.
I also learned a lot about scorpions.
This is a fantastic book, which I encourage all to read to be educated about this absolutely horrible condition, but without it feeling like being schooled.
However, Tuppence Middleton managed to make me chuckle while detailing her life living with OCD, due to her relatable style and humour.
I also learned a lot about scorpions.
This is a fantastic book, which I encourage all to read to be educated about this absolutely horrible condition, but without it feeling like being schooled.
February 27, 2025
When I say no book has ever spoken to me like this one, I really do mean it. So many of my own experiences (and not just directly with OCD) aren't only similar to the authors, they are identical; I found myself nodding vigorously, unable to put the book down at bedtime and frequently pointing frantically at the pages whilst explaining parts to my ever so patient partner. Every aspect of Tuppence's story is told with a gentle vulnerability, it's beautifully written, intelligent yet unpretentious, thoroughly researched, incredibly personal and genuinely had me cackling out loud - often. Scorpions has instantly become that one book I want everybody to read and upon finishing the ebook, I immediately purchased the audible version.
Content warning - this book describes details of the author's own OCD rituals and mentions vomiting throughout.
Content warning - this book describes details of the author's own OCD rituals and mentions vomiting throughout.
February 17, 2025
Scorpions is an incredibly insightful and beautifully written account of the author's experience living with OCD - a disorder that is so frequently misunderstood and trivialised.
I do not suffer from OCD, but I am familiar with anxiety-driven spirals of thoughts. Middleton writes so candidly about her struggles that I found certain passages difficult to read. The author provides a warning at the beginning of the book to warn of descriptions of compulsive behaviour, but I would also like to make it known that the topic of vomiting is discussed frequently and in detail throughout the book - so if that's something you would find distressing to read then I would urge you to stay away.
At just 208 pages, this book is incredibly readable and informative. I would highly recommend Scorpions to anyone interested in a first-hand account of living with OCD.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House (Ebury) for the opportunity to review this book.
I do not suffer from OCD, but I am familiar with anxiety-driven spirals of thoughts. Middleton writes so candidly about her struggles that I found certain passages difficult to read. The author provides a warning at the beginning of the book to warn of descriptions of compulsive behaviour, but I would also like to make it known that the topic of vomiting is discussed frequently and in detail throughout the book - so if that's something you would find distressing to read then I would urge you to stay away.
At just 208 pages, this book is incredibly readable and informative. I would highly recommend Scorpions to anyone interested in a first-hand account of living with OCD.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House (Ebury) for the opportunity to review this book.
February 17, 2025
4.5 stars
Wow, this was a tough read, yet somehow Tuppence Middleton still managed to infuse so much hope into an account of her life that so often felt utterly heart-breaking.
Scorpions is the memoir of Tuppence Middleton, where she details her life living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Middleton discusses her triggers and the resulting compulsions in great detail, using the metaphor of scorpion ‘protectors’ in her mind to bring her harrowing experiences to life. This is a heavy one, with plenty of detail about both physical and mental illness, so I advise looking up full content warnings. The big ones are:
OCD, insects, vomit / general sickness, compulsive behaviours
Middleton is not a writer by trade, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from this. The imagery that was painted, both real and metaphorical was vivid and poetic. I always knew exactly what she was trying to say; what feeling she was trying to convey, whether it was frustration, fear, despair, hope, or anger.
The narrative method was quick and engaging. Learning about Middleton’s life would have been interesting enough on it’s own, but she used multiple creative tools to take the level of immersion to the next level, from outlining step by step guides on her extensive compulsive routines, to a full ‘choose your own adventure’ style chapter, which put you right in the decision making shoes of a person with OCD.
The only thing that brings this reading experience down half a star for me was the desire for more in some areas. I fully appreciate that laying out the hardest parts of your life isn’t a walk in the park, and Middleton is entitled to share whichever parts she wishes, but there were a couple of periods where there were time jumps and I think it would have helped the context of certain situations if I could have seen more of how she got from point A to point B. It didn’t feel fully complete in some places.
Having said that, I highly recommend picking this up if you are mentally and emotionally able to - just check those trigger warnings thoroughly first.
Thank you to Ebury Publishing and Netgalley for the chance to read and review an advanced copy of this title.
Wow, this was a tough read, yet somehow Tuppence Middleton still managed to infuse so much hope into an account of her life that so often felt utterly heart-breaking.
Scorpions is the memoir of Tuppence Middleton, where she details her life living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Middleton discusses her triggers and the resulting compulsions in great detail, using the metaphor of scorpion ‘protectors’ in her mind to bring her harrowing experiences to life. This is a heavy one, with plenty of detail about both physical and mental illness, so I advise looking up full content warnings. The big ones are:
OCD, insects, vomit / general sickness, compulsive behaviours
I know these creatures well, but they know me better. There is a ferocious edge to their loyalty, yet something hollow lurks in their promise to keep me safe.
Middleton is not a writer by trade, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from this. The imagery that was painted, both real and metaphorical was vivid and poetic. I always knew exactly what she was trying to say; what feeling she was trying to convey, whether it was frustration, fear, despair, hope, or anger.
It is hard to imagine a line of gift items with anorexia or ptsd boldly stamped upon them for all to see. So why is OCD continually used as a shorthand for light-hearted craziness, or categorised as one of the more comic disorders of the mind?
The narrative method was quick and engaging. Learning about Middleton’s life would have been interesting enough on it’s own, but she used multiple creative tools to take the level of immersion to the next level, from outlining step by step guides on her extensive compulsive routines, to a full ‘choose your own adventure’ style chapter, which put you right in the decision making shoes of a person with OCD.
The defects and faults of the mind are like wounds in the body; after all imaginable care has been taken to heal them up, still there will be a scar left behind, and they are in continual danger of breaking the skin and bursting out again.
The only thing that brings this reading experience down half a star for me was the desire for more in some areas. I fully appreciate that laying out the hardest parts of your life isn’t a walk in the park, and Middleton is entitled to share whichever parts she wishes, but there were a couple of periods where there were time jumps and I think it would have helped the context of certain situations if I could have seen more of how she got from point A to point B. It didn’t feel fully complete in some places.
Having said that, I highly recommend picking this up if you are mentally and emotionally able to - just check those trigger warnings thoroughly first.
Thank you to Ebury Publishing and Netgalley for the chance to read and review an advanced copy of this title.
April 21, 2025
OCD is incredibly isolating and cruel - all thoughts you have, no matter how horrible, must be true and then to acknowledge them out loud is just ensuring that they will happen, so to me this is one of the bravest books I've ever read. Scorpions is a really beautifully written and honest memoir that plays a really important role in breaking the stigma that surrounds OCD and in letting people with OCD realise that they aren't alone with the scorpions that plague their mind. I really wish that this book had been around when I was younger.
February 14, 2025
Easily 5 stars.
Review to follow
Review to follow
February 22, 2025
I’m not quite sure where to start in reviewing Scorpions, A Memoir, from actress Tuppence Middleton, other than to say thank you to Middleton.
Thank you for being honest and open enough (and indeed brave) in writing down your experiences of living with OCD, your scorpions. Thank you for providing an insight into how OCD can actually manifest as opposed to all those trite ideas peddled in places that would suggest OCD is just about cleaning and being particular with where things go. Thank you for creating a book that you would have hoped to read when figuring out what your scorpions meant. Thank you for allowing your reader, those of us who also balance our waking days (and sleepless nights) with the weight of OCD, that sense of oh it’s not just me then is it. And thank you for providing an insight into life with OCD for those who love and care for us, for when we try our best but our mind’s just won’t allow us to necessarily follow your logic.
For as long as Tuppence Middleton can remember, she has struggled with obsessive thoughts and compulsions. She visualises her OCD as scorpions inhabiting her mind, something to be hidden that impacts her life daily. Often used as a shorthand for tidiness or as the punchline of a joke, OCD is one of society’s most misunderstood disorders and it’s rarely spoken about with such honesty and openness. In this beautifully written, moving and often darkly funny memoir, Tuppence recounts what it feels like to share your mind with a nest of scorpions.
Middleton’s remarkable honesty and candour makes this an incredibly important book. Her author’s note at the start is vital; she outlines that she is trying to create an immersive experience (which she certainly does) but that those with OCD should take care with reading if they feel it might distress or disrupt their own recovery. Personally I found great comfort in being able to both relate to and differentiate my own experiences of OCD to Middleton’s. The confirmation of not being alone (even though we know we aren’t ultimately) is very powerful indeed.
Though this isn’t an easy read, it is a vital one and one that I hope will provoke even more discussions around OCD.
With thanks to Netgalley and Rider for my advance copy.
Thank you for being honest and open enough (and indeed brave) in writing down your experiences of living with OCD, your scorpions. Thank you for providing an insight into how OCD can actually manifest as opposed to all those trite ideas peddled in places that would suggest OCD is just about cleaning and being particular with where things go. Thank you for creating a book that you would have hoped to read when figuring out what your scorpions meant. Thank you for allowing your reader, those of us who also balance our waking days (and sleepless nights) with the weight of OCD, that sense of oh it’s not just me then is it. And thank you for providing an insight into life with OCD for those who love and care for us, for when we try our best but our mind’s just won’t allow us to necessarily follow your logic.
For as long as Tuppence Middleton can remember, she has struggled with obsessive thoughts and compulsions. She visualises her OCD as scorpions inhabiting her mind, something to be hidden that impacts her life daily. Often used as a shorthand for tidiness or as the punchline of a joke, OCD is one of society’s most misunderstood disorders and it’s rarely spoken about with such honesty and openness. In this beautifully written, moving and often darkly funny memoir, Tuppence recounts what it feels like to share your mind with a nest of scorpions.
Middleton’s remarkable honesty and candour makes this an incredibly important book. Her author’s note at the start is vital; she outlines that she is trying to create an immersive experience (which she certainly does) but that those with OCD should take care with reading if they feel it might distress or disrupt their own recovery. Personally I found great comfort in being able to both relate to and differentiate my own experiences of OCD to Middleton’s. The confirmation of not being alone (even though we know we aren’t ultimately) is very powerful indeed.
Though this isn’t an easy read, it is a vital one and one that I hope will provoke even more discussions around OCD.
With thanks to Netgalley and Rider for my advance copy.
July 1, 2025
I would recommend this book to anyone. OCD is a disorder that many people don’t understand or know much about, often defining it as liking to be “organized and neat”. OCD is so much more, and Tuppence Middleton did a fantastic job explaining what it is and how it affects it’s captors everyday.
Using facts and knowledge about scorpions puts the disorder into perspective and shines light on a new way of understanding what OCD is. OCD is a misunderstood disorder. What it truly is and how it affects people is rarely discussed or brought up. Middleton faces these misunderstandings and tells her story of growing up with OCD in an understandable and relatable way.
TW: vomiting discussed in the story.
Using facts and knowledge about scorpions puts the disorder into perspective and shines light on a new way of understanding what OCD is. OCD is a misunderstood disorder. What it truly is and how it affects people is rarely discussed or brought up. Middleton faces these misunderstandings and tells her story of growing up with OCD in an understandable and relatable way.
TW: vomiting discussed in the story.
April 20, 2025
I cannot guarantee this memoir is exceptional, or well written, or perfect research but I felt a kinship with the author throughout. My OCD does not manifest in the same way - weirdly, pathogens and vomit do not send me under, in the classic way it does for many - but I saw myself, and things I’d never even realised I did, in the tale.
Perhaps Scorpions is an excellent way to describe what is going on up there.
”It is hard to imagine a line of gift items with ANOREXIA or PTSD boldly stamped across them for all to see, so why is OCD continually used as shorthand for lighthearted craziness?”
Perhaps Scorpions is an excellent way to describe what is going on up there.
”It is hard to imagine a line of gift items with ANOREXIA or PTSD boldly stamped across them for all to see, so why is OCD continually used as shorthand for lighthearted craziness?”
February 26, 2025
Thank you to Tuppence Middleton and NetGalley for this ARC!
A very honest read that I think hasn’t been seen enough, especially around topics like OCD. My fiancé has OCD and has struggled with very similar symptoms to the author. When I spoke to him about some of the things mentioned in the book, he got very excited to see himself represented without any trivialisation or undermining of symptoms. He’s very eager to buy the book when it comes out. A very necessary read for anyone interested in memoirs specifically around mental health.
A very honest read that I think hasn’t been seen enough, especially around topics like OCD. My fiancé has OCD and has struggled with very similar symptoms to the author. When I spoke to him about some of the things mentioned in the book, he got very excited to see himself represented without any trivialisation or undermining of symptoms. He’s very eager to buy the book when it comes out. A very necessary read for anyone interested in memoirs specifically around mental health.
July 5, 2025
As Tuppence says at the beginning - don’t read if you are susceptible to others rituals - like tics they can be absorbed. I found the reading of this book stressful and upsetting - one can never trivialise OCD - it must be so difficult to live with and Tuppence has been actually quite brave to disclose so many of her thought
July 17, 2025
Really liked listening to this one!! I’m working with a client with emetophobia so this was so helpful to understand more what that might feel like / sound like / be like.
Read
April 6, 2025🎧
May 2, 2025
A lyrical and subjective account of the author’s experience living with obsessive compulsive disorder — this memoir is well—crafted, darkly comic, and deeply moving.
April 20, 2025
Gave a good insight into the struggles of living with OCD.
February 16, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for this eARC.
Tuppence Middleton delivers an absorbing and surprising exploration into the thorny stinger-filled life of living with her "scorpions" (and the OCD they represent). Based on this ingenious extended metaphor, the book is an unflinching deep dive into the many various facets of living with, coping with and thriving with OCD. Middleton does not shy away from the complexities of the disorder nor from how exhausting living life with compulsions and obsessions can be. However, she never ebbs into self pity, rather her goal remains focussed on sharing her experiences in a visceral and creative fashion. While sharing her own personal experiences through anecdotes from throughout her life, she also wraps the reader up in her compulsions and in her thought patterns through some truly creative chapters including one written as a choose your own adventure and another in which you witness the manipulative nature of her scorpions in a chapter written entirely as stream of consciousness.
Throughout the novel, Middleton highlights both the lack of understanding around the disorder and the lack of research, both in terms of understanding why it happens and how to treat it. She is open about both the therapies and drugs that have worked for her and those which have not, while often ending with the frustrated note of "we do not yet know why...'. I found the chapters set during COVID and the early months of her motherhood particularly interesting and they both demonstrated Middleton's willingness to explore the many facets of her disorder and the way it has shaped her and her behaviour. She is unafraid to show herself at her most societally "unacceptable" and I cannot help but feel this is essential and valuable representation. With that said, there are some necessary trigger warnings at the front of the book and, based on what she shares about picking up compulsions and patterns from others, I could see why you may wish to bypass this book.
This is a witty, wise and tenacious book delivered with care and thought and I feel a better person for having read it.
Tuppence Middleton delivers an absorbing and surprising exploration into the thorny stinger-filled life of living with her "scorpions" (and the OCD they represent). Based on this ingenious extended metaphor, the book is an unflinching deep dive into the many various facets of living with, coping with and thriving with OCD. Middleton does not shy away from the complexities of the disorder nor from how exhausting living life with compulsions and obsessions can be. However, she never ebbs into self pity, rather her goal remains focussed on sharing her experiences in a visceral and creative fashion. While sharing her own personal experiences through anecdotes from throughout her life, she also wraps the reader up in her compulsions and in her thought patterns through some truly creative chapters including one written as a choose your own adventure and another in which you witness the manipulative nature of her scorpions in a chapter written entirely as stream of consciousness.
Throughout the novel, Middleton highlights both the lack of understanding around the disorder and the lack of research, both in terms of understanding why it happens and how to treat it. She is open about both the therapies and drugs that have worked for her and those which have not, while often ending with the frustrated note of "we do not yet know why...'. I found the chapters set during COVID and the early months of her motherhood particularly interesting and they both demonstrated Middleton's willingness to explore the many facets of her disorder and the way it has shaped her and her behaviour. She is unafraid to show herself at her most societally "unacceptable" and I cannot help but feel this is essential and valuable representation. With that said, there are some necessary trigger warnings at the front of the book and, based on what she shares about picking up compulsions and patterns from others, I could see why you may wish to bypass this book.
This is a witty, wise and tenacious book delivered with care and thought and I feel a better person for having read it.
March 9, 2025
What an exquisitely created memoir; such a powerful, authentic and creatively expressed work tackling the much misunderstood and unsettling condition that is OCD.
As a fellow sufferer, I have not ever read a work on the subject that has had such a profound impact on me; and I have read many. I particularly loved the way she took the time to describe her rituals in such great detail. Such a fantastic way to explain to the 'uninformed' of how "not funny is OCD" (despite the author's own clever use of humour and self-deprecation). I found myself nodding in agreement, laughing out loud and tearing-up now and again as I read of the weird and wonderful complexities of her own personal OCD.
Her techniques used to describe the thoughts in her head in the Chapter "SUBTERFUGE" was simple but so impactful. It perfectly represented the illogicality and the uncontrolled catastrophisation with which OCD sufferers have to manage inside their mind.
Some of her routines by the way, were so spookily like my own that it made the hairs rise on the back of my neck.
I have the utmost respect for the informative, expressive and so very colourful way in which she presented her stories to us. Unfolding bit-by-bit in very clearly and simply named chapters and with the common thread of the threat of the ever-present scorpions hanging in the air.
It is essential that lived experiences like this need to be told. Not only to let other OCD sufferers know that they are not alone but more so to inform a (surprisingly) very much uninformed society of 2025 just how pernicious, illogical and debilitating is the little understood condition.
Brava!!
As a fellow sufferer, I have not ever read a work on the subject that has had such a profound impact on me; and I have read many. I particularly loved the way she took the time to describe her rituals in such great detail. Such a fantastic way to explain to the 'uninformed' of how "not funny is OCD" (despite the author's own clever use of humour and self-deprecation). I found myself nodding in agreement, laughing out loud and tearing-up now and again as I read of the weird and wonderful complexities of her own personal OCD.
Her techniques used to describe the thoughts in her head in the Chapter "SUBTERFUGE" was simple but so impactful. It perfectly represented the illogicality and the uncontrolled catastrophisation with which OCD sufferers have to manage inside their mind.
Some of her routines by the way, were so spookily like my own that it made the hairs rise on the back of my neck.
I have the utmost respect for the informative, expressive and so very colourful way in which she presented her stories to us. Unfolding bit-by-bit in very clearly and simply named chapters and with the common thread of the threat of the ever-present scorpions hanging in the air.
It is essential that lived experiences like this need to be told. Not only to let other OCD sufferers know that they are not alone but more so to inform a (surprisingly) very much uninformed society of 2025 just how pernicious, illogical and debilitating is the little understood condition.
Brava!!
April 14, 2025
“Everyone has their little quirks”
—
Middleton isn’t wrong, everyone does have their own quirks, but in her lyrical and unflinching memoir, the actor now turned memoirist invites us into her self-appreciable world, introducing us to the scorpions that are her obsessions and compulsions. OCD is different for different people, and the routines and actions for one individual living with OCD will be different from another’s. What doesn’t change are how OCD can affect a person’s life, and Middleton is brutally honest about how her OCD manifests in her day to day, her personal life, her work life. High schooler, undergrad, acting professional: in a spare 45,000 words, Middleton opens up her routines, her thought cycles, her challenges and her victories, over, despite, in concert with her scorpions.
Even so, with all of these things going on, Middleton comes across as a committed and passionate human being, warm and friendly and non-judgemental, perhaps modelling the behaviour she wants to see from those she encounters. I felt the humour that must live in this forthright actor in the inclusion of guided OCD rituals and a choose your own OCD adventure, scientific quotes on scorpions, poetry: a metatextual salad that only adds to the thoroughness of Middleton’s recounting of her own particular obsessions and compulsions.
And the scorpions: the scorpions have personality, like massed ranks within Middleton to help categorise the world into good and bad, fearful and comforting. I’ll never look at a scorpion in the same way.
Four and a half stars.
—
Middleton isn’t wrong, everyone does have their own quirks, but in her lyrical and unflinching memoir, the actor now turned memoirist invites us into her self-appreciable world, introducing us to the scorpions that are her obsessions and compulsions. OCD is different for different people, and the routines and actions for one individual living with OCD will be different from another’s. What doesn’t change are how OCD can affect a person’s life, and Middleton is brutally honest about how her OCD manifests in her day to day, her personal life, her work life. High schooler, undergrad, acting professional: in a spare 45,000 words, Middleton opens up her routines, her thought cycles, her challenges and her victories, over, despite, in concert with her scorpions.
Even so, with all of these things going on, Middleton comes across as a committed and passionate human being, warm and friendly and non-judgemental, perhaps modelling the behaviour she wants to see from those she encounters. I felt the humour that must live in this forthright actor in the inclusion of guided OCD rituals and a choose your own OCD adventure, scientific quotes on scorpions, poetry: a metatextual salad that only adds to the thoroughness of Middleton’s recounting of her own particular obsessions and compulsions.
And the scorpions: the scorpions have personality, like massed ranks within Middleton to help categorise the world into good and bad, fearful and comforting. I’ll never look at a scorpion in the same way.
Four and a half stars.
February 6, 2025
A wonderfully insightful memoir, I found Tuppence’s analogy of her OCD with Scorpions invading her mind throughout the book very illustrative of how it must feel to live with OCD. Her thoughts and fears are invasive and all consuming so it’s little wonder that she gives them a life form of their own.
Though I don’t live with OCD myself I could completely identify with the vomiting fear and the extreme lengths she would go to avoid the risk of anything causing her to vomit, be it catching a viral infection from someone else to food poisoning. Avoid at all costs is my motto too.
Anyone who lives with OCD perhaps wouldn’t learn anything new from this book as they will be acutely aware of its effects on everyday life, but may perhaps find it a source of comfort to know they’re not alone. But it is a helpful and informative account of OCD for anyone who wants to understand the condition fully. Being a relatively short book, it’s easy to read and has been written with a real lightness of touch so that it keeps you compelled to read more, it never drags you down with complicated jargon, and evokes in the reader a real sense of empathy for those who live with the condition.
An interesting book which I enjoyed reading.
Though I don’t live with OCD myself I could completely identify with the vomiting fear and the extreme lengths she would go to avoid the risk of anything causing her to vomit, be it catching a viral infection from someone else to food poisoning. Avoid at all costs is my motto too.
Anyone who lives with OCD perhaps wouldn’t learn anything new from this book as they will be acutely aware of its effects on everyday life, but may perhaps find it a source of comfort to know they’re not alone. But it is a helpful and informative account of OCD for anyone who wants to understand the condition fully. Being a relatively short book, it’s easy to read and has been written with a real lightness of touch so that it keeps you compelled to read more, it never drags you down with complicated jargon, and evokes in the reader a real sense of empathy for those who live with the condition.
An interesting book which I enjoyed reading.
March 7, 2025
Scorpians is a well written and relatable memoir about living with OCD. Tuppence Middleton doesn't flinch from the challenges of living with the disorder and relates just how devastating this unpredictable illness can be and how it can completely overwhelm your life. She writes with compassion to herself and to others struggling with the disorder and in doing so also opens the disorder up to those of us with less understanding.
Despite not struggling with OCD, I found a lot of what is written here highly relatable albeit with the context of depression/anxiety and ADHD in mind. The struggles aren't the same, but there's a level of similarity that meant this could really speak with me. This is candid, open, honest and thought-provoking. It's also hopeful, despite the challenges. Tuppence's analogy of OCD being scorpions in your brain was cleverly tied in throughout the novel, both in the very real terms of how Tuppence processes the scorpions and in historical, literary and medical references to scorpions.
All in all, this is a powerful, thought provoking memoir. It's also candid and funny at points. It's well worth reading.
Despite not struggling with OCD, I found a lot of what is written here highly relatable albeit with the context of depression/anxiety and ADHD in mind. The struggles aren't the same, but there's a level of similarity that meant this could really speak with me. This is candid, open, honest and thought-provoking. It's also hopeful, despite the challenges. Tuppence's analogy of OCD being scorpions in your brain was cleverly tied in throughout the novel, both in the very real terms of how Tuppence processes the scorpions and in historical, literary and medical references to scorpions.
All in all, this is a powerful, thought provoking memoir. It's also candid and funny at points. It's well worth reading.
January 27, 2025
I don't normally read memoirs, but I was drawn to Tuppence Middleton's Scorpions due to familiarity with her acting career and wasn't disappointed. In it she talks candidly, and with great humour, about her lifetime struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). An affliction she's been faced with on a daily basis since a childhood illness and visualises as a nest of scorpions that resides within her mind.
It's an ailment that's much misunderstood and often the butt of jokes and it's to be hoped that Middleton's candour about her personal experience leads to more open discussion and understanding of it.
Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House UK and the author for an advance copy.
It's an ailment that's much misunderstood and often the butt of jokes and it's to be hoped that Middleton's candour about her personal experience leads to more open discussion and understanding of it.
Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House UK and the author for an advance copy.
April 3, 2025
4.5⭐️ As someone with OCD, I find it really hard to consume any form of media surrounding others experiences with the disorder, but Tuppence made me feel so seen.. especially her experience from a young age and trying to navigate childhood, friendships, relationships with your family etc whilst being consumed by the "scorpions" (OCD) encompassing your every thought.
It’s refreshing to listen to someone tell their story about what OCD is truly like and not keep it secret.
“i felt as though i was telling a secret i had promised to keep private”
Crazy to hear someone else express the immense feeling of SHAME you get along with OCD.
Also made me appreciate how well medication has worked for my OCD🙌
Love you Tuppence🫶
It’s refreshing to listen to someone tell their story about what OCD is truly like and not keep it secret.
“i felt as though i was telling a secret i had promised to keep private”
Crazy to hear someone else express the immense feeling of SHAME you get along with OCD.
Also made me appreciate how well medication has worked for my OCD🙌
Love you Tuppence🫶
April 7, 2025
Unique and honest, this personal depiction of the authors experience of living with ocd is written with such clarity and courage. She cleverly deals with some difficult topics whilst also managing to weave humour and hope into the pages too. There was plenty in this book that I could relate to but I think it also has the ability to encourage a better understanding of ocd to those who haven’t at first hand experienced scorpions of this nature before themselves. Both a thought-provoking memoir and a potential lifeline to those dealing with ocd, I highly recommend this book :)
October 8, 2025
Author Middleton has lived with OCD since the age of 11. Her memoir of living with OCD allows the reader to understand her daily struggle - it puts us squarely inside her head right next to the nest of 'scorpions' that reside there. This book reminds us that, while for some people, living with OCD can be debilitating, there are others who live an outwardly a functional life, hiding their daily struggle. Reading memoirs such as this are vitally important in that they allow us to understand and empathize with others in their struggles.
March 13, 2025
As someone who has battled with OCD since childhood and has felt insane for it, I want to say thank you to Tuppence for writing this book. It not only made me feel less alone in my struggles but also made me feel that I too can get a grasp on my own scorpions. I can only imagine how difficult it was to write, especially the compulsions in detail, and so I am grateful to have gotten to experience it.
March 25, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Ebury Publishing for the advance reader copy.
I don’t usually read memoirs but found that I enjoyed how honest and real this book was.
The descriptions of how OCD had affected Tuppence throughout her life was written poetically but also in such a personal way that drew me in.
This will be a book I re-read and I imagine will be as engaging as the first time reading it through.
I don’t usually read memoirs but found that I enjoyed how honest and real this book was.
The descriptions of how OCD had affected Tuppence throughout her life was written poetically but also in such a personal way that drew me in.
This will be a book I re-read and I imagine will be as engaging as the first time reading it through.
April 2, 2025
A very interesting read. As someone who experienced OCD symptoms for years as a teenager—without even knowing what OCD was—it was reassuring to hear from someone of a similar age who went through comparable experiences. Although the author seems to have found ways to manage the disorder, I hope this book helps anyone currently feeling trapped by it to realise that there are ways to manage—and even overcome—this condition.
September 9, 2025
“Was Tennessee Williams right when he said that to kill all demons might kill his angels too?”
What an amazing debut and insight into OCD. As someone who suffers from obsessions myself, it felt good to know that I’m not alone. This almost brought me to tears a couple of times as I can’t begin to imagine how exhausting it must be to suffer the worst of this anxious disorder.
I read this within a day and I am so so very grateful that it was written.
What an amazing debut and insight into OCD. As someone who suffers from obsessions myself, it felt good to know that I’m not alone. This almost brought me to tears a couple of times as I can’t begin to imagine how exhausting it must be to suffer the worst of this anxious disorder.
I read this within a day and I am so so very grateful that it was written.
November 9, 2025
This compelling memoir was written by an actress who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder. In the author’s note at the beginning of the book, she warns readers that the book contains descriptions of compulsive rituals and obsessive thought cycles that some readers might find distressing. This book really succeeds in conveying the suffering caused by OCD. Whilst for me it wasn’t an enjoyable read, it is very interesting and important.
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