Paul Merson's 'brutally honest' addiction battle memoir goes to Headline

Headline Publishing Group will publish ex-Arsenal and England football player Paul Merson's memoir Hooked: Addiction and the Long Road to Recovery on 16th September 2021.  

Merson’s professional career spanned two decades. He is most synonymous with Arsenal, where he played for 12 years and where he won the Football League Championship twice as well as the FA Cup, the League Cup and the European Cup Winners’ Cup. Merson also had spells at Middlesbrough, Aston Villa and Portsmouth, and won 21 caps for England. He is now a long-term studio analyst on Sky Sports' "Soccer Saturday". His memoir will detail his life and three-decade long battle with addiction. 

Consultant sports publisher Jonathan Taylor acquired world English language rights from Jim Erwood of Extra Time Management.

Taylor said: "Like everyone who watched it, I was really moved by Paul discussing his life on the 'Harry’s Heroes' TV programme last year and was delighted to learn that he was ready to chronicle his three decades of battling addiction. Hooked is a tremendously courageous, unflinching and inspirational book which I’m convinced will help start a powerful and meaningful conversation about addiction, poor mental health and the terrible damage they wreak."

Merson commented: "Addiction is the loneliest of places. You're a slave to insecurity and ego, but it has to be you that wants things to change. I've learnt to never be afraid to talk: the more you talk about the addictions the more it takes the power out of them. From the bottom of my heart, I really hope my new book will help as many people as possible to understand they are not alone."