Professor Jason Arday's upcoming memoir, "Great and Unfortunate Things," set for publication next week, contains discrepancies compared to a 2024 book proposal for the same work, according to reports. The proposal reportedly details significantly different accounts of Arday's past experiences, including claims of surviving locked-in syndrome and testicular cancer.
In the book proposal, Arday, 41, described being struck by a car as a teenager, resulting in a coma. During this period, the proposal states he experienced locked-in syndrome and overheard doctors advising his parents to remove him from life support. He reportedly awoke from the coma and spent a year relearning basic functions. The proposal also mentions a bout of testicular cancer.
However, the final version of the memoir presents different details for these events. The car accident account is replaced with finishing school and taking exams. The proposal refers to testicular cancer, while the memoir discusses two brain tumors.
Further inconsistencies have been noted between the two versions regarding dates and characters. For instance, an anecdote about a group of boys attacking him in the proposal involved individuals four years older than those described in the book. A suicide attempt, described as occurring before the pandemic in the proposal, is placed during the pandemic in the memoir.
The book proposal also includes an account of receiving a prophecy in Brazil in 2005 from a "shaman woman." This encounter, where the woman predicted hardship and future achievements, is retained in the memoir but dated to 2006 and features a different individual described as a local aid worker.
These revelations emerge amidst an investigation by Cambridge University into allegations of plagiarism against Professor Arday. He recently resigned from his position as Cambridge's youngest black professor, citing the "personal cost" of the controversy.
Arday's past claims have also included being unable to write until age 18, completing 30 marathons in 35 days, and raising £5 million for charities.
An earlier incident involving Times Higher Education magazine investigating Arday's academic record led him to file a police complaint. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner acknowledged the force's mishandling of the subsequent four-month investigation into the journalist. Cambridge University, Professor Arday, and his publisher, Simon & Schuster, have been contacted for comment.