Born to be Mild: Adventures for the Anxious

TEMPLE, ROB

‘A handful of years ago, I moved with my wife to a house on a quiet street in a quiet town and lay quietly in a room for a long time.

I used to love an adventure, but when I hit my thirties I started to become afraid of the world, until I was too frightened to even go outside at all . . . it was just me, my phone and my social media feeds. Doesn’t sound too healthy, does it? It wasn’t.’

Rob Temple runs the social-media empire Very British Problems from the comfort of his own sofa, but what happens when the four walls of your living room become your world?

Everything goes wrong.

In this hilarious and life-affirming memoir, Rob sets out to reinvent himself as an intrepid traveller, a bee-keeper and yogi, all to become a little less Bear (Pooh) and a little more Bear (Grylls). Along the way there are good days and bad days, but with each failed adventure and small triumph, Rob discovers how the mild-mannered and anxious can still enjoy their own share of (gentle) adventure from time to time.