A Cwmbran business owner has written a memoir about her “journey from depression misdiagnosis for over a decade to an ADHD diagnosis.”
Marie Boycott runs Kilted Dragon Distillery with her husband Jamie. It was set up in the summer of 2025 and is now based in Springvale Industrial Estate, where they offer tours, tastings, and you can make your own spirits.
“Laundry – 7 to 10 Working Days’ is described as “a funny, raw, and deeply honest memoir about mental load, masking, motherhood, burnout, misdiagnosis, and the moment one woman began to realise she was never broken – just running on the wrong settings. It offers a candid look at the emotional weight many carry silently.”
Cwmbran Life regularly features local authors and asks them to talk about their book and share tips for aspiring writers. Marie answered these questions.
Q. How did you write a book in ten days?
A. “I didn’t plan to write a book. I was prepping a podcast. I wrote ten emails. Every morning for ten days, I sat down with a coffee and sent myself one honest message – a small module about the chaos, the overwhelm, the laundry, the masking, the moments that made me laugh or quietly unravel. They were meant to be podcast segments: short, sharp, self‑contained.
“At the end of my emails, I realised it was way too much for a podcast and more of a memoir. ‘Laundry: 7–10 Working Days‘ wasn’t written through discipline or a grand plan. I wrote it through ten mornings of reflecting on the truth of my life.”
Q. What is your book about?
A. “‘Laundry: 7–10 Working Days‘ is a memoir that captures my journey from depression misdiagnosis for over a decade to an ADHD diagnosis – moments of domestic chaos, emotional load, burnout and the neurodivergent patterns I didn’t yet understand. Those modules became chapters, and together they formed a narrative shaped around the laundry cycle: the floordrobe, the basket, the machine, the rewashes, the stairs, the drawers. It’s a book about the quiet overwhelm behind everyday life, the humour in the mess, and the clarity that comes when you finally understand your own brain.”
Q. Why did you decide to write it?
A. “I didn’t plan to write a book. I planned to write ten short podcast modules. Every morning, I woke up, made a coffee, stayed in bed, opened my phone, and wrote one honest email to myself. No overthinking. No structure. No pressure. Just truth.
“By the end of the ten days, I realised those modules weren’t just reflections – they were the story I’d been living. Once I received my diagnosis, everything clicked into place. The ten emails became the spine of a book I didn’t know I was writing.”
Q. What has the response from readers been like?
A. “I have been really touched by the feedback so far. I didn’t really care if I only sold 5 copies if I could just help one person who feels the struggle and asks the question, ‘Everyone else can keep on top of a career, kids, housework, etc. and do it well. Why can’t I?’
“Readers have connected deeply with the human rawness; some people have thanked me, and some have said they will look deeper into a diagnosis, as they just thought they were failing. Some messages I have had directly –
- “It feels like reading someone’s morning thoughts — raw and real.”
- “I didn’t know anyone else lived like this.”
- “This helped me understand myself — and helped my partner understand me.”
“People love the honesty, the humour, and the modular rhythm. The book feels personal because it is personal – it was written completely unfiltered, and I did get nervous about exposing myself so openly by publishing it.”
Q. Where do you write?
A. “My writing routine is simple and very human: in bed, with a coffee, on my phone. I write fast, before the day has a chance to interfere.”
Q. What tools do you use?
A. “I use tools that suit quick, honest writing:
- Email on my phone – every module began as a message to myself
- Google Docs – for collecting and lightly organising
- Word – for shaping the manuscript once the modules were ready
- KDP and IngramSpark, – for publishing
“I literally copied the book from my phone into a Word template and shaped it into chapters.”
Q. What advice would you give to someone who wants to start writing but doesn’t know where to begin?
A. “Write one email to yourself every morning. Not a chapter. Not a plan. Not a masterpiece. Just one honest thought before the world wakes up. Sometimes, when you are thinking of the whole story at once, you can get a block because the challenge seems so big. Maybe you start like me – NOT writing a book.
“A few principles that come directly from how ‘Laundry‘ was created:
- Write somewhere relaxing. Comfort helps honesty.
- Write fast. Don’t give yourself time to overthink.
- Write small. Big stories are built from tiny truths.
- Write for yourself first. The audience comes later.
- Write in modules. Structure can change at any point once you string the content together to give you shape.
“If you can write ten honest morning emails, you can write a book.”
Buy ‘Laundry – 7 to 10 Working Days’
You buy ‘Laundry – 7 to 10 Working Days’ on Amazon.