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Blue: A Memoir – Keeping the Peace and Falling to Pieces

Blue: A Memoir – Keeping the Peace and Falling to Pieces

by JohnSutherland (Author)

  • Used

    Paperback 2018

    $3.25

  • New

    Paperback 2018

    $11.68
Synopsis

A Sunday Times top-five bestseller

'This is a remarkable book . . . profound and deeply moving . . . It has as much to tell us about mental illness as it does about policing' Alastair Stewart

John Sutherland joined the Met in 1992, having dreamed of being a police officer since his teens. Rising quickly through the ranks, he experienced all that is extraordinary about a life in blue: saving lives, finding the lost, comforting the broken and helping to take dangerous people off the streets. But for every case with a happy ending, there were others that ended in desperate sadness, and in 2013 John suffered a major breakdown.

Blue is his memoir of crime and calamity, of adventure and achievement, of friendship and failure, of serious illness and slow recovery. With searing honesty, it offers an immensely moving and personal insight into what it is to be a police officer in Britain today.

$3.25

Save:$9.29 (74%)

Quantity

11 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 304
 Publisher: W&N
Published: 19 Apr 2018
ISBN 10: 1474606067
ISBN 13: 9781474606066

Media Reviews
'A stark account of a talented police officer's breakdown . . . This is a startlingly honest book and the final two chapters are heartbreaking' -- Richard Morrison * The Times *
'I read Blue more or less in one sitting. I thought it was wonderful - very powerful, deeply moving and utterly honest' -- Henry Marsh, bestselling author of Do No Harm and Admissions
'This is a remarkable book: a diary which became a magnum opus on belief and success, on depression and despair. It is well written and intellectually demanding, profound and deeply moving. In places, it is funny; everywhere, it is thoughtful. It has as much to tell us about mental illness as it does about policing. And there is much love in it: for friends, for family, for life' -- Alastair Stewart
'An honest look at the vulnerability that comes with bravery' * the i *
'The effect of this honesty is to leave us both more appreciative of police officers and more concerned for their well-being, as well as encouraged that such a compassionate man was promoted so vertiginously. He describes police work as fulfilling, humbling, inspiring, daunting, shattering, rewarding and soul-stirring which is also a fair description of his book' -- Josh Raymond * Times Literary Supplement *
'A remarkable, honest account of twenty years in policing' -- Sophy Ridge, journalist and broadcaster
'Blue is a remarkable, revealing and inspiring insight into the worlds of the police and the policed. The stories told are by turns heart-warming and saddening, moving and maddening - it is an account of the very best and the very worst of our society. It is a book which should be required reading for all who aspire to public office, in any sector and at every level' -- John Nichol, bestselling author of Tornado Down
'Courageous and moving' -- Tom Harper, Sunday Times Home Affairs Correspondent
'Admirably honest and movingly human . . . Sutherland asks us to look behind the faceless blue and see the individual people - human and humane . . . the everyday heroes and heroines who police our streets' -- P.F. King * The Spectator *
'A fascinating, powerful and beautifully written insight into the life of a police officer' -- Dan Walker, journalist and broadcaster
'John Sutherland lays out the human cost of working as a police officer in simple, devastating terms' -- Jack Sommers * HuffPost *
'A superb book by a superb police officer' -- Charles Cumming
'Brave and very honest' -- Bear Grylls
'It is rare for an officer to reveal such deep, personal experiences about the effect policing has had on his life as does John Sutherland. His memoir will expand people's understanding of what it means to be a police officer in Britain today, revealing the truth about the toll that a career in policing can have on those tasked with the responsibility of tackling crime. This is a brave and compelling account of policing from a very senior officer in the most renowned police force in the world' -- Colin Taylor, author of Life of a Scilly Sergeant
'A gripping book . . . moving and really powerful . . . I highly recommend it' -- Jumoke Fashola, BBC London
This courageous and finely written book is a timely invitation to think more deeply about what we ask of our police. -- Jane Shilling * DAILY MAIL *
Author Bio
John Sutherland is a father of three, who lives with his wife and children in south London. For the best part of twenty-five years, he has served as a Metropolitan Police Officer. He won the Baton of Honour as the outstanding recruit in his training-school intake. Over the course of his career, in which he has been awarded several commendations, he has worked in seven different London boroughs, in a variety of different ranks and roles, and he has also been posted to Scotland Yard on three separate occasions. His most recent operational job was as the Borough Commander for Southwark. John can be found on Twitter and Wordpress as 'policecommander'. Blue is his first book.