At boarding school in Auckland in the 1990s, Liam (not his real name) was always getting into trouble but he couldn’t work out why. He was forgetful and found it hard to focus, and it drove his teachers crazy. “I wasn’t paying attention and that made them angry. They thought I was being insolent.”
He found it easy to make friends, although he was always moving on from one best friend to another. “I don’t know if that’s normal or not. I would fall out with people or just grow out of them.” He felt like he was never central to a group but always on the periphery.
In the afternoon, the boys would sit down and do their homework, but Liam just read a book. “I didn’t know where to start. I couldn’t remember anything. You just can’t force yourself to do it, especially a complex task like writing an essay that has multiple stages.”
• Julie Hill
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