If you look closely you can still see some tear splotches on these pages, here and there.' Following the death of his wife, Miles, an academic and hypochondriac suffering from acute anxiety, finds himself in need of professional help. Back in his native Scotland from a research trip to the US he conducted in the weeks preceding his wife's death, his therapist encourages him to write a fictionalised version of his life in order to pinpoint the sources of his anxiety. In penning this record of his memories, Miles reveals the complicated double life he has been leading – tortured academic by day, Internet troll hounding people under a pseudonym by night – and unsettling details surrounding the US trip begin to surface. As the narrative progresses, questions build as to what actually happened during the final days of Miles and Sarah's marriage. Americanitis is an extraordinary work that mercilessly blends fact with fiction and leaves the reader scrabbling for truth.
"'I had a blast with this freewheeling debut… Beard more than sustains his manic high-wire act in a book that lives on the strength of its satirical detail and rug-pulling glee.'"
