Something For The Weekend

Book excerpt: After spending ten years in the army, James Wharton enters civilian life and settles in the idyllic English countryside with his husband and two dogs, in what seems to be a perfect fairy-tale ending. But only a year later, separated from his husband, James finds himself trying to carve out a new life in London, frequenting the capital's gay clubbing scene in a search for potential friends and lovers. He is quick to discover the phenomenon known as 'chemsex' - a weekend world of drugs, partying and sex. Immediately hooked, James begins to spend hours, often days, with groups of total strangers, locked in drug-induced states of heightened sexual desire. Something for the Weekend compassionately explores the growing popularity of chemsex and considers the motivating factors that have lured people into this underworld. James interviews a variety of characters, from drug dealers and sexual health experts to other gay men who, like himself, became addicted to this often volatile culture, and reveals how chemsex has cemented its status as more than just a short-term craze, becoming a permanent feature in modern gay life.