The Authenticity Project

“Off you go! Be bold! Be brave! But, above all, be yourselves!”

The idea was terrifying. How was it possible to be so present during something so intimate and revealing? Surely all that squelching and thrusting and groaning, and sometimes even farting, would just be deeply embarrassing without the numbing effect of narcotics? Perhaps he’d never have sex again. The thought was, strangely, almost less terrifying than the thought of never having a drink or a drug again, and that one he’d already been contemplating for weeks.

After decades of endless choice, of every decision having subsections—Tea or coffee? Cappuccino, Americano, latte? Regular milk, skimmed, or soya?—Hazard found the lack of options curiously refreshing.