10-month résumé gap, advice?, bookkeeper here

I have been out of work for 10 months and worry about the gap. I would rather hear the honest version than the polite one. I am not sure how much to explain. What do you say in interviews?

I listed the volunteering and course under the same dates and kept the explanation to a sentence in the cover letter.

I was hired after a 10-month gap. The manager said the skills test mattered more than the dates.