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This, My Second Life
After a near-death experience and life-changing injury, twenty-year-old Jago Trevarno goes to stay with his uncle on his small coastal farm a few miles from St Ives in Cornwall.
Their existence is a simple one, their lives measured by the span of the days, the rhythms of the seasons and the animals they care for.
But lurking in the shadows is local villain, Bill Sligo, who has designs on Jacob's farm and in particular on a field near the cliffs housing a derelict mineshaft.
Wanting to repay his uncle’s kindness, Jago determines to find out what Bill Sligo is up to.
Jago is still vulnerable though, and in pursuing Sligo he delves into a murky world that he is ill-equipped to deal with. How far will Bill Sligo go to get what he wants? Jago doesn’t know it yet, but once again he is in grave danger.
Beautifully written, spare and elegiac, filled with shafts of light and darkness as well as the beauty and harshness of the Cornish landscape, Jago's journey is one of hope, renewal and resilience as he comes to terms with this, his second life.
Their existence is a simple one, their lives measured by the span of the days, the rhythms of the seasons and the animals they care for.
But lurking in the shadows is local villain, Bill Sligo, who has designs on Jacob's farm and in particular on a field near the cliffs housing a derelict mineshaft.
Wanting to repay his uncle’s kindness, Jago determines to find out what Bill Sligo is up to.
Jago is still vulnerable though, and in pursuing Sligo he delves into a murky world that he is ill-equipped to deal with. How far will Bill Sligo go to get what he wants? Jago doesn’t know it yet, but once again he is in grave danger.
Beautifully written, spare and elegiac, filled with shafts of light and darkness as well as the beauty and harshness of the Cornish landscape, Jago's journey is one of hope, renewal and resilience as he comes to terms with this, his second life.
- GenresNovels21st Century
304 pages, Hardcover
Published January 8, 2026
19 people are currently reading
633 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 11, 2026
New for 2026 !
“I've gone from someone who needed to slow down, to be present, to having no choice about it. I am slow now : I have to do things separately, giving each my full attention. But I wouldn't change it back even if I could."
This is the story of Jago Trevarno- a young man who has undergone the life-changing impact of surviving a cardiac arrest (not. heart attack - there is a difference) but also suffering brain injury. Following surgery and hospital recuperation, he goes to live with his uncle Jacob on a farm in Cornwall.
Life takes on a familiar routine that helps Jago navigate the day. Small details about events add to the understanding of how a daily rhythm or pattern is key for Jago- breakfast rituals; helping on the farm.
Life is jolted by the emergence of Bill Sligo - owner of a neighbouring farm. Jago sees him on his uncle's land at different times of day and begins to piece together something sinister. that could alter the equilibrium of life.
Patrick Charnley openly informs us at the start of the novel that he has undergone the life-changing experience of brain trauma and he has used his experiences to narrate the story. Written from the first person perspective of Jago, this very much feels that the author's voice is evident.
In many ways, despite the dramatic denouement, this is a very gentle read- a slightly 'old-fashioned' quality - but that is not a negative. Following the pace of Jago's world on the farm, as a reader you find yourself slowing down and focussing on each moment- the details about mealtimes hypnotised. The inclusion of Granny Carne and Sophie add further depth to understanding how Jago interacts and communicates with friends whether it be talking about the past or dealing with the unfolding drama in the story.
This is a book that educates as much as telling a story.
Ultimately, it is the sense of location and being in the moment are what permeate through this gentle read.
“I've gone from someone who needed to slow down, to be present, to having no choice about it. I am slow now : I have to do things separately, giving each my full attention. But I wouldn't change it back even if I could."
This is the story of Jago Trevarno- a young man who has undergone the life-changing impact of surviving a cardiac arrest (not. heart attack - there is a difference) but also suffering brain injury. Following surgery and hospital recuperation, he goes to live with his uncle Jacob on a farm in Cornwall.
Life takes on a familiar routine that helps Jago navigate the day. Small details about events add to the understanding of how a daily rhythm or pattern is key for Jago- breakfast rituals; helping on the farm.
Life is jolted by the emergence of Bill Sligo - owner of a neighbouring farm. Jago sees him on his uncle's land at different times of day and begins to piece together something sinister. that could alter the equilibrium of life.
Patrick Charnley openly informs us at the start of the novel that he has undergone the life-changing experience of brain trauma and he has used his experiences to narrate the story. Written from the first person perspective of Jago, this very much feels that the author's voice is evident.
In many ways, despite the dramatic denouement, this is a very gentle read- a slightly 'old-fashioned' quality - but that is not a negative. Following the pace of Jago's world on the farm, as a reader you find yourself slowing down and focussing on each moment- the details about mealtimes hypnotised. The inclusion of Granny Carne and Sophie add further depth to understanding how Jago interacts and communicates with friends whether it be talking about the past or dealing with the unfolding drama in the story.
This is a book that educates as much as telling a story.
Ultimately, it is the sense of location and being in the moment are what permeate through this gentle read.
December 6, 2025
This is the story of twenty-year-old Jago Trevarno who goes to stay with his uncle on his small coastal farm a few miles from St Ives in Cornwall, after a cardiac arrest leaves him with a life-altering brain injury.
Their existence is a simple one, almost off-grid, and they live according to the rhythm of the sun, the crops and the animals they care for.
As Jago begins to adjust to the reality of his new life, he gets caught up in the murky world of local villain, Bill Sligo, who appears to have designs on Jago’s uncle’s farm and in particular a field containing a disused mine-shaft. Wanting to repay his uncle’s kindness, Jago determines to find out what Bill Sligo is up to, but he is still vulnerable because of his health issues, and in pursuing Sligo he delves into a murky world that he is ill-equipped to deal with. How far will Bill Sligo go to get what he wants? Jago doesn’t know it yet, but once again he is in grave danger.
What an absolutely brilliant read this was. It is deeply moving, and poignant, yet, at the same time, really educational and informative about living with brain injury. You can totally understand and appreciate how Jago is conflicted: grateful for being alive after surviving cardiac arrest with no heartbeat for 49 minutes; adjusting to the lifelong, permanent limitations of his body, and the realisation of the life that he's lost. All the things he used to take for granted, or enjoy, now denied to him, and, just prior to this major, life-changing event, his mother had died, his relationship with Sophie had ended, and he'd moved to Bristol. It's such a lot to come to terms with at a very young age.
It was while the author, Patrick Charnley himself was convalescing from a cardiac arrest that very nearly ended his life and left him with a brain injury, began to write this novel. He prefaces it with a paragraph explaining that whilst this informs the way he has written Jago, everything else is fictitious.
An enormous sense of place imbues this novel, with its rich evocation of the beautiful, rugged Cornish landscape, and sense of community. Everyone know everyone else, and their business.
The simplicity of life on Jacob's farm is almost a balm for Jago. There is a feeling of peace and calm, beautifully and skilfully rendered by Charnley. It's a slower, contented, mindful and simple life, in tune with nature and its cycles. Their few possessions. The off grid, self-sufficient lifestyle, reliant on oil lamps and candles. The neat, tidy, uncluttered, farmhouse. It's all there, vividly realised in your mind's eye.
This is matched by the evocation of a richly sensory landscape: the smells of cooking, the taste of their meals and the careful, mindful way they're prepared.
Within this frame, Charnley creates a cast of well drawn, fully realised characters, are all believable and leap off the page. I felt such sympathy for Jago's situation; loved the quiet patience and loyalty of Jacob; and was especially fond of Granny Carne with her independence, strength, and all-seeing wisdom.
This beautifully written, poignant, moving and emotional novel is so profound and thought-provoking, in the ways it makes you think about our health and our minds and bodies. What we take for granted and what we can lose in an instant. The way our 'heart is mechanical and electrical. It holds no mystery. But the brain is so unlikely. Flesh like the rest of the body, but able to create hopes and dreams, love and desire, ideas and actions'. That's something you have to sit withca while and contemplate.
It also makes you consider what it is to be human: the emotional, physical and moral dilemmas we face as we live our day to day lives.
And it's also a hymn to Cornwall with its landscape and traditional industries, and an appreciation of a simpler life, celebrating the healing power of nature and a loving relationship between uncle and nephew.
Above all, despite its storyline and the themes it explores, it's a novel suffused with a sense of resilience, hope and optimism, as Jago begins to come to terms with his second life.
A quietly powerful, profound, moving and beautiful read, which I loved enormously, and based on this debut I'll definitely read anything
Patrick Charnley publishes in the future. Thoroughly recommended.
As a side note, I discover after finishing the novel that Patrick Charnley is the son of the late Helen Dunmore - a brilliant writer, and one of my favourites. He grew up in the West Country where he fell in love with Cornwall.
Their existence is a simple one, almost off-grid, and they live according to the rhythm of the sun, the crops and the animals they care for.
As Jago begins to adjust to the reality of his new life, he gets caught up in the murky world of local villain, Bill Sligo, who appears to have designs on Jago’s uncle’s farm and in particular a field containing a disused mine-shaft. Wanting to repay his uncle’s kindness, Jago determines to find out what Bill Sligo is up to, but he is still vulnerable because of his health issues, and in pursuing Sligo he delves into a murky world that he is ill-equipped to deal with. How far will Bill Sligo go to get what he wants? Jago doesn’t know it yet, but once again he is in grave danger.
What an absolutely brilliant read this was. It is deeply moving, and poignant, yet, at the same time, really educational and informative about living with brain injury. You can totally understand and appreciate how Jago is conflicted: grateful for being alive after surviving cardiac arrest with no heartbeat for 49 minutes; adjusting to the lifelong, permanent limitations of his body, and the realisation of the life that he's lost. All the things he used to take for granted, or enjoy, now denied to him, and, just prior to this major, life-changing event, his mother had died, his relationship with Sophie had ended, and he'd moved to Bristol. It's such a lot to come to terms with at a very young age.
It was while the author, Patrick Charnley himself was convalescing from a cardiac arrest that very nearly ended his life and left him with a brain injury, began to write this novel. He prefaces it with a paragraph explaining that whilst this informs the way he has written Jago, everything else is fictitious.
An enormous sense of place imbues this novel, with its rich evocation of the beautiful, rugged Cornish landscape, and sense of community. Everyone know everyone else, and their business.
The simplicity of life on Jacob's farm is almost a balm for Jago. There is a feeling of peace and calm, beautifully and skilfully rendered by Charnley. It's a slower, contented, mindful and simple life, in tune with nature and its cycles. Their few possessions. The off grid, self-sufficient lifestyle, reliant on oil lamps and candles. The neat, tidy, uncluttered, farmhouse. It's all there, vividly realised in your mind's eye.
This is matched by the evocation of a richly sensory landscape: the smells of cooking, the taste of their meals and the careful, mindful way they're prepared.
Within this frame, Charnley creates a cast of well drawn, fully realised characters, are all believable and leap off the page. I felt such sympathy for Jago's situation; loved the quiet patience and loyalty of Jacob; and was especially fond of Granny Carne with her independence, strength, and all-seeing wisdom.
This beautifully written, poignant, moving and emotional novel is so profound and thought-provoking, in the ways it makes you think about our health and our minds and bodies. What we take for granted and what we can lose in an instant. The way our 'heart is mechanical and electrical. It holds no mystery. But the brain is so unlikely. Flesh like the rest of the body, but able to create hopes and dreams, love and desire, ideas and actions'. That's something you have to sit withca while and contemplate.
It also makes you consider what it is to be human: the emotional, physical and moral dilemmas we face as we live our day to day lives.
And it's also a hymn to Cornwall with its landscape and traditional industries, and an appreciation of a simpler life, celebrating the healing power of nature and a loving relationship between uncle and nephew.
Above all, despite its storyline and the themes it explores, it's a novel suffused with a sense of resilience, hope and optimism, as Jago begins to come to terms with his second life.
A quietly powerful, profound, moving and beautiful read, which I loved enormously, and based on this debut I'll definitely read anything
Patrick Charnley publishes in the future. Thoroughly recommended.
As a side note, I discover after finishing the novel that Patrick Charnley is the son of the late Helen Dunmore - a brilliant writer, and one of my favourites. He grew up in the West Country where he fell in love with Cornwall.
January 17, 2026
This, My Second Life is a remarkably assured debut — tender, precise and deeply humane. Patrick Charnley writes about recovery and identity with a quiet intensity, capturing both the fragility and the stubborn persistence of hope after a life-altering brain injury. The novel’s reflective, first-person voice gives the reader an intimate sense of Jago Trevarno’s internal world as he works to piece together what has been damaged or lost.
Much of the novel’s strength lies in its close attention to the textures of thought and sensation. Charnley conveys cognitive fog, fatigue and frustration without melodrama or sentimentality. Jago reflects, “But that was only the beginning. I had to pick through the wreckage, blind at first. I had to find all the pieces of me, scattered all around, and put them back together one by one. That’s what I’m doing now with Jacob, and the truth is that it’s all right. All right, but different.” Small, physical details carry real emotional weight, such as when he notes, “Fatigue is like a bruise. Once I’ve got it, it doesn’t just go away after I’ve rested. It fades slowly and only if I’m careful. That’s why I have to try not to get too fatigued in the first place.”
Charnley is particularly strong on the altered landscapes of thinking, phrasing it with clarity and restraint. At one point Jago observes, “Instead of coming up with ideas, as I would have done in the past, my mind is blank, and the harder I try to think, the less I’m able to. It’s like being in a dense fog where whichever way you look you can’t see anything. I feel tears gathering in my eyes again. I hate this: my mind is paralysed and I don’t know how to get out of it.”
Beautifully written, quietly moving and suffused with grace, This, My Second Life is a debut that deserves attention.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC
Much of the novel’s strength lies in its close attention to the textures of thought and sensation. Charnley conveys cognitive fog, fatigue and frustration without melodrama or sentimentality. Jago reflects, “But that was only the beginning. I had to pick through the wreckage, blind at first. I had to find all the pieces of me, scattered all around, and put them back together one by one. That’s what I’m doing now with Jacob, and the truth is that it’s all right. All right, but different.” Small, physical details carry real emotional weight, such as when he notes, “Fatigue is like a bruise. Once I’ve got it, it doesn’t just go away after I’ve rested. It fades slowly and only if I’m careful. That’s why I have to try not to get too fatigued in the first place.”
Charnley is particularly strong on the altered landscapes of thinking, phrasing it with clarity and restraint. At one point Jago observes, “Instead of coming up with ideas, as I would have done in the past, my mind is blank, and the harder I try to think, the less I’m able to. It’s like being in a dense fog where whichever way you look you can’t see anything. I feel tears gathering in my eyes again. I hate this: my mind is paralysed and I don’t know how to get out of it.”
Beautifully written, quietly moving and suffused with grace, This, My Second Life is a debut that deserves attention.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC
October 23, 2025
“the brain is so unlikely. flesh like the rest of the body, but able to create hopes and dreams, love and desire, ideas and actions.” - this book will single handedly increase your empathy levels and make you feel so grateful for how effortlessly your body and brain work <3
this, my second life is a book based on our main character jago, who has been forced to slow down after experiencing a cardiac arrest which resulted in a brain injury after he was officially dead for 40 minutes. this is based on the author’s real life, which in itself is so powerful; the rest of the book is a work of fiction.
i truly loved this book, it captures the simplicity and complexity of what it is to be human. waking to watch the sunrise, eating breakfast in silence whilst you still wake up, starting your morning with a big stretch that feels achy but nice after you’ve used your muscles. i started to notice that most of the chapters begin with jago waking up, a lot of these chapters include a description of the peacefulness of morning time.
it also celebrates traditional farm life and highlights the beauty of the cornish landscape - it’s so descriptive you feel like you’re there. this book gave me hope and faith in humanity that there’s always someone willing to help, and that most people look for the goodness in things, even though it doesn’t always seem that way.
i’ve rated this 4.5 stars!! it’s such a genuinely intriguing story, it’s got a bit of everything. there’s even a local criminal on the loose and jago turns into detective mode to find out what he’s up to!!
so grateful to receive an early copy of this book, i will be recommending it to everyone.
this, my second life is a book based on our main character jago, who has been forced to slow down after experiencing a cardiac arrest which resulted in a brain injury after he was officially dead for 40 minutes. this is based on the author’s real life, which in itself is so powerful; the rest of the book is a work of fiction.
i truly loved this book, it captures the simplicity and complexity of what it is to be human. waking to watch the sunrise, eating breakfast in silence whilst you still wake up, starting your morning with a big stretch that feels achy but nice after you’ve used your muscles. i started to notice that most of the chapters begin with jago waking up, a lot of these chapters include a description of the peacefulness of morning time.
it also celebrates traditional farm life and highlights the beauty of the cornish landscape - it’s so descriptive you feel like you’re there. this book gave me hope and faith in humanity that there’s always someone willing to help, and that most people look for the goodness in things, even though it doesn’t always seem that way.
i’ve rated this 4.5 stars!! it’s such a genuinely intriguing story, it’s got a bit of everything. there’s even a local criminal on the loose and jago turns into detective mode to find out what he’s up to!!
so grateful to receive an early copy of this book, i will be recommending it to everyone.
November 4, 2025
This is the moving story of Jago who after suffering a cardiac arrest and subsequent brain damage, goes to stay with his kind and caring Uncle Jacob at his farm near St Ives in Cornwall to continue his recovery.
It tells of Jago coming to terms with the consequences and limitations of his debilitating illness and is told with all the insight of the author’s own personal experience through Jago’s thoughts and moods.
The beautifully descriptive writing and attention to detail gives the book a strong sense of place and brings to life the countryside and the day to day life on the farm, taking care of the animals and producing vegetables to take to market. I loved reading about the preparation of meals – Jago making bread, Jacob baking fresh fish in the oven - there are some good tips I shall try out!
All should be well, even idyllic, and it would be but for the mystery of near neighbour Bill Sligo and his strange interest in the disused mineshaft on Jacob’s lower field which he is desperate to acquire. He is clearly up to no good and must be stopped. Jago knows he does not have the strength to stand up to Bill but feels he must investigate even though he may put himself in grave danger.
It was a pleasure to read this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Many thanks to Patrick Charnley, Random House Cornerstone and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
It tells of Jago coming to terms with the consequences and limitations of his debilitating illness and is told with all the insight of the author’s own personal experience through Jago’s thoughts and moods.
The beautifully descriptive writing and attention to detail gives the book a strong sense of place and brings to life the countryside and the day to day life on the farm, taking care of the animals and producing vegetables to take to market. I loved reading about the preparation of meals – Jago making bread, Jacob baking fresh fish in the oven - there are some good tips I shall try out!
All should be well, even idyllic, and it would be but for the mystery of near neighbour Bill Sligo and his strange interest in the disused mineshaft on Jacob’s lower field which he is desperate to acquire. He is clearly up to no good and must be stopped. Jago knows he does not have the strength to stand up to Bill but feels he must investigate even though he may put himself in grave danger.
It was a pleasure to read this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Many thanks to Patrick Charnley, Random House Cornerstone and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
September 13, 2025
Patrick Charnley's debut novel, This, My Second Life, is a beautiful and spare novel about a young man, Jago Trevarno, learning to live life again after suffering cardiac arrest. His recuperation takes him to his uncles farm in rural Cornwall, where his life is set onto a collision course with the nefarious Bill Sligo.
Charnley is the son of the much missed Helen Dunmore, he opens his novel by telling us some of this is drawn from life. This admission gives the reader pause to consider whether this is fiction or not - but soon the mechanisms of fiction writing kick in, and the novels begins to hurtle towards a dramatic denouement.
There is a lot to like in this novel - Charnley, whilst perhaps not the prose stylist his mother was - does have a distinctive voice of his own, and there is some very fine writing here. It is not a long novel, and went through it in one sitting. The local colour of Cornwall is well done, and the characterisation of Jago is well done - though how much of Jago is it's author is hard to say. What I will say is that when I had finished it I felt sure I would read another novel from Charnley, which is testament that he's written a good novel here.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
Charnley is the son of the much missed Helen Dunmore, he opens his novel by telling us some of this is drawn from life. This admission gives the reader pause to consider whether this is fiction or not - but soon the mechanisms of fiction writing kick in, and the novels begins to hurtle towards a dramatic denouement.
There is a lot to like in this novel - Charnley, whilst perhaps not the prose stylist his mother was - does have a distinctive voice of his own, and there is some very fine writing here. It is not a long novel, and went through it in one sitting. The local colour of Cornwall is well done, and the characterisation of Jago is well done - though how much of Jago is it's author is hard to say. What I will say is that when I had finished it I felt sure I would read another novel from Charnley, which is testament that he's written a good novel here.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
January 12, 2026
This is a stunning debut! One of those quiet novels that really packs a punch with the emotion and expressive writing used by the author.
it's a story of hope, and follows Jago, who finds himself having to move to live with his Uncle after he suffered a near fatal cardiac arrest that had added complications. This is his second chance of life, and it's a much slower pace of life and one he has to come to terms with in a very remote area.
With more time on his hands, he has more time to observe and he starts to notice things on his Uncle's land and his inquisitive nature sees him trying to investigate, while also trying to remember his previous life and how he would approach things differently back then. He's a character you really can't help but admire and feel for as his whole life has been turned upside down but he seems to have quite a resilient approach to this new way of living.
For a short book, it really does keep you enthralled from beginning to end and I highly recommend it to all!
it's a story of hope, and follows Jago, who finds himself having to move to live with his Uncle after he suffered a near fatal cardiac arrest that had added complications. This is his second chance of life, and it's a much slower pace of life and one he has to come to terms with in a very remote area.
With more time on his hands, he has more time to observe and he starts to notice things on his Uncle's land and his inquisitive nature sees him trying to investigate, while also trying to remember his previous life and how he would approach things differently back then. He's a character you really can't help but admire and feel for as his whole life has been turned upside down but he seems to have quite a resilient approach to this new way of living.
For a short book, it really does keep you enthralled from beginning to end and I highly recommend it to all!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This, My Second Life is the charming story of Jago, who lives in St Ives, near Cornwall.
Jago lives with Jacob, his mum's older brother in a traditional farmhouse with not much electricity - there's oil lamps and such, but also an electric freezer. Jago is only 20 and recalibrating his life after a cardiac arrest, which resulted in a brain injury. He is slower in his moving and thinking, a little bit forgetful and sleeps a lot. His injury has affected these aspects of his life, but not his intelligence. He hasn’t let it distress him and he lives a quiet and happy life with Jacob. There are two horses, cows to milk, a garden to attend to, and fencing to do – so plenty of honest work on their farm. Jago loves the traditions and pace of life in Cornwall, the slowness of it, but he is also a young man and perhaps unconsciously he wants adventure as well as security, and to justify his place in the world. He had a girlfriend, Sophie and their breakup was awful, so there is a plenty to navigate when Sophie comes back into his life.
There’s trouble too. A neighbour who has history with the villagers is meddling and Jago can't leave it alone. I delighted in the contrast between the joy of Jago's simple life and a niggling sense of disquiet that something bad is going on around the farm.
The writing is beautiful. Jago's voice is evocative and immersive:
Thank you Patrick Charnley and Random House UK for the ARC. Opinions are my own.
Jago lives with Jacob, his mum's older brother in a traditional farmhouse with not much electricity - there's oil lamps and such, but also an electric freezer. Jago is only 20 and recalibrating his life after a cardiac arrest, which resulted in a brain injury. He is slower in his moving and thinking, a little bit forgetful and sleeps a lot. His injury has affected these aspects of his life, but not his intelligence. He hasn’t let it distress him and he lives a quiet and happy life with Jacob. There are two horses, cows to milk, a garden to attend to, and fencing to do – so plenty of honest work on their farm. Jago loves the traditions and pace of life in Cornwall, the slowness of it, but he is also a young man and perhaps unconsciously he wants adventure as well as security, and to justify his place in the world. He had a girlfriend, Sophie and their breakup was awful, so there is a plenty to navigate when Sophie comes back into his life.
There’s trouble too. A neighbour who has history with the villagers is meddling and Jago can't leave it alone. I delighted in the contrast between the joy of Jago's simple life and a niggling sense of disquiet that something bad is going on around the farm.
The writing is beautiful. Jago's voice is evocative and immersive:
It's a nice day, the sky a sharp clear blue, the air cool but not cold. The sun is milky, no longer the ball of scorching heat that it was back in the summer.Patrick Charnley has written a beautiful novel that pays homage to his mother (writer Helen Dunmore), and is a credit to him as he has the same injuries as Jago, his fictional hero. It must have been enormously difficult to write, and a monumental project to see through to publication. My first read of 2026 and it's a delight!
Thank you Patrick Charnley and Random House UK for the ARC. Opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This, My Second Life by debut author Patrick Charnley is one of those deceptively quiet novels that roars like a lion. A story of hope, resilience and renewal, swaddled in soaring elegiac prose that whispers to the soul. It bewitched me, utterly and irrevocably.
In it, we meet 20-year-old Jago Trevarno, who after a life-changing brain injury goes to stay with his uncle Jacob on his small farm on the Cornish coast. It’s a simple, routine existence, close to nature; exactly the environment Jago needs to aid his recovery. But there’s some nasty business afoot on the property, and when Jago decides to investigate, he finds his life once again in grave peril.
What makes this book so special is Charnley’s irresistible fusion of authentic, sympathetic characterization and writing that is at once spare yet full bodied and transportive. The storytelling is simple, expressed through Jago’s altered mind with candour and the intimacy of a memoir, his struggles with memory and fatigue illuminating and instructive to the reader.
Based on his own experience of brain injury, Charnley’s rendition of Jago elicits empathy for the painful losses he’s suffered and the challenges he faces and admiration for his pragmatic acceptance of this ‘second’ life. His recovery is slow but hopeful. Jacob, his stalwart, is quietly supportive and protective, their relationship a thing of calm beauty.
I finished this with a profound sense of having read something very special. At under 250 pages, it’s a short book, but its brevity belies an extraordinary power to inspire reflection—on the precariousness of life and the way we choose to live it, on the natural world, and on the innate need for human connection. It’s one that will stay with me for a long time.
In it, we meet 20-year-old Jago Trevarno, who after a life-changing brain injury goes to stay with his uncle Jacob on his small farm on the Cornish coast. It’s a simple, routine existence, close to nature; exactly the environment Jago needs to aid his recovery. But there’s some nasty business afoot on the property, and when Jago decides to investigate, he finds his life once again in grave peril.
What makes this book so special is Charnley’s irresistible fusion of authentic, sympathetic characterization and writing that is at once spare yet full bodied and transportive. The storytelling is simple, expressed through Jago’s altered mind with candour and the intimacy of a memoir, his struggles with memory and fatigue illuminating and instructive to the reader.
Based on his own experience of brain injury, Charnley’s rendition of Jago elicits empathy for the painful losses he’s suffered and the challenges he faces and admiration for his pragmatic acceptance of this ‘second’ life. His recovery is slow but hopeful. Jacob, his stalwart, is quietly supportive and protective, their relationship a thing of calm beauty.
I finished this with a profound sense of having read something very special. At under 250 pages, it’s a short book, but its brevity belies an extraordinary power to inspire reflection—on the precariousness of life and the way we choose to live it, on the natural world, and on the innate need for human connection. It’s one that will stay with me for a long time.
December 15, 2025
His heart stopped, his life changed, his mind was different; then he learned to reconnect with himself, his family, his ex-girlfriend, all while being forced into a slower pace of life. Despite his setbacks and challenges, he sets out to stop a local criminal in his tracks.
The book focusses on from twenty-year-old Jago Trevarno's life-changing incident where his heart stopped, and brain-forever-damaged due to the lack of oxygen, finds himself living and working with his older relative, Jacob, on Jacob's farm. Jacob relishes the slower, quieter life, a life not familiar to Jago before his accident, but now it's just what he needs whilst he adapts to his new physical and mental challenges.
Whilst reconnecting with himself, and growing into his new life of horse riding, playing chess and helping out around the farm, local bully and criminal, Bill Sligo, makes Jacob an over-the-top offer for a field at the bottom of Jacob's farm. Despite the rumours of drug-dealing and acts of violence, Jacob is not pursuided to sell the farm, but Jago see's Bill's offer for what it really is.
I absolutely LOVED Patrick Charnley's writing, I loved this story and the characters had depth and were easy to connect with. I cannot wait to read more of Patrick's writing, and appreciate how much of this novel had been taken from the Patrick's own life.
I will certainly recommend this book to others, and I could happily reread this again.
The book focusses on from twenty-year-old Jago Trevarno's life-changing incident where his heart stopped, and brain-forever-damaged due to the lack of oxygen, finds himself living and working with his older relative, Jacob, on Jacob's farm. Jacob relishes the slower, quieter life, a life not familiar to Jago before his accident, but now it's just what he needs whilst he adapts to his new physical and mental challenges.
Whilst reconnecting with himself, and growing into his new life of horse riding, playing chess and helping out around the farm, local bully and criminal, Bill Sligo, makes Jacob an over-the-top offer for a field at the bottom of Jacob's farm. Despite the rumours of drug-dealing and acts of violence, Jacob is not pursuided to sell the farm, but Jago see's Bill's offer for what it really is.
I absolutely LOVED Patrick Charnley's writing, I loved this story and the characters had depth and were easy to connect with. I cannot wait to read more of Patrick's writing, and appreciate how much of this novel had been taken from the Patrick's own life.
I will certainly recommend this book to others, and I could happily reread this again.
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