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Blue: A Memoir - Keeping the Peace and Falling to Pieces
A searingly honest memoir of life, policing and falling apart
'Every contact leaves a trace'
John Sutherland joined the Met in 1992, having dreamed of being a police officer since his teens. Rising quickly through the ranks, and compelled by the opportunity to make a real difference to people's lives, he worked across the capital, experiencing first-hand the enormous satisfaction as well as the endless trauma that a life in blue can bring.
There were remarkable, career-defining moments: commanding armed sieges, saving lives 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.
In early 2013, John suffered a major breakdown and consequent battle with crippling depression. After a career spent racing to be the first at the scene of crimes and catastrophes, he found himself in pieces, unable to put one foot in front of the other.
Blue is a memoir of crime and calamity, of adventure and achievement, of friendship and failure, of laughter and loss, of the best and the worst of humanity, 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.
288 pages
First published May 25, 2017
76 people are currently reading
843 people want to read
About the author
John Sutherland
4 books41 followersJohn Sutherland is a married father of three and he lives with his wife and children in South London.
He joined the Met Police in September 1992 and served a variety of ranks and roles across London.
Heretired on ill health grounds in February 2018.
He writes blogs about life and policing – about the extraordinary people he served alongside and the challenges they face.
He joined the Met Police in September 1992 and served a variety of ranks and roles across London.
Heretired on ill health grounds in February 2018.
He writes blogs about life and policing – about the extraordinary people he served alongside and the challenges they face.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
June 8, 2017
A truly honest book full of mini snippets into various points of John's Policing career and how it can also cause the black dog to arrive which is something those who are Police, family of Police and friends of Police to relate to.
When I read the little stories of domestic violence, attending crime scenes, witnessing dead bodies I can picture dad attending these. The description of the black dog at the start of the book and parts towards the end are also similar to my dad. My dad only tells me the funny stories of his Policing career. Having been on a observer shift during my time volunteering with my local force and seeing a dead body, makes me appreciate why dad never tells me the bad parts (still like to know) & why he talked me out joining (my life regret).
John's book also gives a good insight of Policing for those who have no or little knowledge of the horrors, joys and mixed emotions being a Police Officer can entail. To give your all to protect people til the body breaks.
Thank you John for sharing your memoirs and thank you for all you have done to protect us.
When I read the little stories of domestic violence, attending crime scenes, witnessing dead bodies I can picture dad attending these. The description of the black dog at the start of the book and parts towards the end are also similar to my dad. My dad only tells me the funny stories of his Policing career. Having been on a observer shift during my time volunteering with my local force and seeing a dead body, makes me appreciate why dad never tells me the bad parts (still like to know) & why he talked me out joining (my life regret).
John's book also gives a good insight of Policing for those who have no or little knowledge of the horrors, joys and mixed emotions being a Police Officer can entail. To give your all to protect people til the body breaks.
Thank you John for sharing your memoirs and thank you for all you have done to protect us.
July 11, 2018
Disclaimer: I won this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway.
3.5 rounded up
A solid memoir detailing the career of a former Met policeman whose career ended when he had a breakdown, the culmination of 20+ years on the job and repeatedly seeing all kinds of awful things most of us will never encounter.
It took me a little while to get used to the style - the book is made up of short anecdotes scaling John Sutherland's career, most of which are only a page or two long - but once I was engaged I found this hard to put down. I really appreciated John's honesty, and the insights his memoir afforded into aspects of the Met and the police in general that I had no idea about.
3.5 rounded up
A solid memoir detailing the career of a former Met policeman whose career ended when he had a breakdown, the culmination of 20+ years on the job and repeatedly seeing all kinds of awful things most of us will never encounter.
It took me a little while to get used to the style - the book is made up of short anecdotes scaling John Sutherland's career, most of which are only a page or two long - but once I was engaged I found this hard to put down. I really appreciated John's honesty, and the insights his memoir afforded into aspects of the Met and the police in general that I had no idea about.
April 14, 2018
I dare anyone not to have a new and refreshed respect for those serving in the Police Force after reading this book. We think that we know what they have to deal with based on what we see on the TV or read in books but it doesn’t even come close. Throughout his career the author witnessed both the best and the worst in human nature and at the same time go home to his family and deal with the same issues as everyone else.
We are given an honest insight into the man behind the uniform. Showing how things in his childhood led him to wanting to join the police right through to the point where it all finally became too much and his slow road to recovery you are left in no doubt of what he went through every day in an effort to do his job and serve his community.
There are moments in this book that made me smile but a lot of the time I realised what a sheltered life I lead. What I consider to be a bad day would probably be seen as a very good day. It was only when I was about half way through the book and I read a certain passage that I realised that this was a man who is the same age as me but has seen and experienced way more than I ever will or ever want to. We always read about how the families of the victims are affected by the violent death of a loved one but we never stop to consider the impact and effect it has on the people who have to investigate these crimes. The fact that even now he is unwilling to talk about a hostage negotiation that did not end well is in itself very telling. For all the ones that ended well it will always be the ones that don’t that stay with them.
For me though there are 2 moments that stand out as the bravest things he did in his career. The first is realising that his mental health was suffering and that he needed help. Knowing that this would affect the career he loved but realising for not just himself but for his family he needs to do this. The second thing was actually writing this memoir. Laying bare the highs and the lows, the daily paperwork, targets and statistics that he faced and the reality of how the job he loved had affected him. Showing the world that having mental health issues are not something to be ashamed of but something that needs to be addressed is probably the greatest service he has ever provided.
To say that I enjoyed this book although it may be the truth just sounds so wrong. Its honesty is compelling and there are events that you will remember although some of it will really bring home what people are capable of. For me this was an insight into what it really means to be a police officer and the price they can pay when they put on that uniform.
We are given an honest insight into the man behind the uniform. Showing how things in his childhood led him to wanting to join the police right through to the point where it all finally became too much and his slow road to recovery you are left in no doubt of what he went through every day in an effort to do his job and serve his community.
There are moments in this book that made me smile but a lot of the time I realised what a sheltered life I lead. What I consider to be a bad day would probably be seen as a very good day. It was only when I was about half way through the book and I read a certain passage that I realised that this was a man who is the same age as me but has seen and experienced way more than I ever will or ever want to. We always read about how the families of the victims are affected by the violent death of a loved one but we never stop to consider the impact and effect it has on the people who have to investigate these crimes. The fact that even now he is unwilling to talk about a hostage negotiation that did not end well is in itself very telling. For all the ones that ended well it will always be the ones that don’t that stay with them.
For me though there are 2 moments that stand out as the bravest things he did in his career. The first is realising that his mental health was suffering and that he needed help. Knowing that this would affect the career he loved but realising for not just himself but for his family he needs to do this. The second thing was actually writing this memoir. Laying bare the highs and the lows, the daily paperwork, targets and statistics that he faced and the reality of how the job he loved had affected him. Showing the world that having mental health issues are not something to be ashamed of but something that needs to be addressed is probably the greatest service he has ever provided.
To say that I enjoyed this book although it may be the truth just sounds so wrong. Its honesty is compelling and there are events that you will remember although some of it will really bring home what people are capable of. For me this was an insight into what it really means to be a police officer and the price they can pay when they put on that uniform.
September 26, 2017
Sutherland joined the police force in the 1990s; this is his story. He talks about some of the cases he's dealt with, his rise through the ranks and the depression that changed his life and career. This is very honest but he's also modest about his successes. Sutherland comes across as the honest copper you hope to deal with when life brings you into contact with the long arm of the law.
January 26, 2020
I read this as part of The Motherload Book Club’s January monthly read along - it’s not a book I would have picked up otherwise. Yet I’ve rated it a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s so well written: heartbreaking, harrowing and so so compelling. I really didn’t know what being a police officer entailed until I read this book. It’s so so brutally honest. Witnessing things a person shouldn’t ever witness.
It isn’t a book just about being a policeman, it’s about his life: before becoming an officer, he explains why he wanted to, his life during: family breakdowns, death, getting married, becoming a father and in 2013 when he noticed his mental health was suffering, I felt like I was watching a successful young man falling to pieces in front of me and then witnessing his slow road to recovery.
Sharing his experiences of what he had witnessed and how it affects family of victims but nobody ever thinks of the professionals dealing with this and how badly it affects them.
I will never look at police officers in the same light again. I have always looked up to them but I have a new found respect for them after reading this.
This book will stay with me and even though it was only my 5th book of 2020, it was remain one of my favourites.
August 24, 2017
truly touching
September 24, 2024
4.5 ⭐️
Aside from the stories themselves the changes that you pick up on as time has gone on within the MET were the most interesting part for me.
A Superintendent- or Borough Commander even- going out in a response car and answering calls? Unheard of these days- aside from PR or fluff pieces.
Paints a picture worth reflection for current police leaders in my, inexperienced, opinion.
Aside from the stories themselves the changes that you pick up on as time has gone on within the MET were the most interesting part for me.
A Superintendent- or Borough Commander even- going out in a response car and answering calls? Unheard of these days- aside from PR or fluff pieces.
Paints a picture worth reflection for current police leaders in my, inexperienced, opinion.
October 25, 2017
Being an A&E doctor for the past year, I saw eye-to-eye with this man's exasperation with the current working patterns at the frontline service and the sheer emotional and psychic load of solving other people's issues and sometimes participate in saving their lives. Not surprised at all, that despite all the love this man had for his terribly challenging, dynamic and infinitely rewarding job, he couldn't sustain it forever and will not be returning to it.
The pages of this memoir are alive with summaries of the hundreds of life-missions he's been on, year on year and the terse snapshots, together form a veritable montage of a superhero that no comic book caped-crusader can rival.
Like Sutherland, I sometimes, inspite of my just-begun tenure, revel on the drive home at the sheer magnitude of decisions and interactions the day just past contained, but if someone had to stop me and ask me to articulate it, I'd offer nothing more than monosyllables and skeletal case details while my head reels with the unsaid and the deeply felt. We work till we drop, we sleep, and then we climb the Sisyphisean hill the day after, absolutely afresh (with caffeine, if not sleep), with only the littlest of recollection grain of the previous day for the first few minutes until the tsunami of interactions of the new day take over. And in a weird way, this high-wired way of deep interaction with strangers you'd never meet, participating or wholly undertaking big decisions and continuous new learning can be strangely addictive.
It takes about a day or two for me to wean off a six day run when I am just ambling about semi-invested at home (though I have found a cheat or two in quickly switching to a book universe to help pad the fall to daily non-A&E civilian existence). I love it and I hate what it does to me: and Sutherland captures that moth-to-the-flame quality so well.
Other than making one fully aware at the work that the police does in your average city, for me the person shone through more with his passion, his work-ethos and the eventual resilience in trying to recover from a mental illness. The bit about domestic violence and broken homes being at the root of much of street violence is something I have now seen being reiterated twice in my this week's readings (last time it was Grayson Perry who was exploring contemporary boyhood/manhood in the excellent Descent of Man) and the bit about Every Contact Matters really ran deep as I was reminded of that fierce Dylan Thomas poem Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night seeing this man recollect honestly a string of events that required courage.
I work everyday with men and women who, like Sutherland, invest their work with such deep care for the people and community around them that their good work and good words scatter inspiration and goodness to all the rest of us humbler mortals. They all go "raging into the night" even as the imperfect system and the indifferent wider society shrugs off their everyday achievements. This memoir made me remember all these quiet angels grafting everyday amidst us and how we need to recognise them and care for them a bit more.
The pages of this memoir are alive with summaries of the hundreds of life-missions he's been on, year on year and the terse snapshots, together form a veritable montage of a superhero that no comic book caped-crusader can rival.
Like Sutherland, I sometimes, inspite of my just-begun tenure, revel on the drive home at the sheer magnitude of decisions and interactions the day just past contained, but if someone had to stop me and ask me to articulate it, I'd offer nothing more than monosyllables and skeletal case details while my head reels with the unsaid and the deeply felt. We work till we drop, we sleep, and then we climb the Sisyphisean hill the day after, absolutely afresh (with caffeine, if not sleep), with only the littlest of recollection grain of the previous day for the first few minutes until the tsunami of interactions of the new day take over. And in a weird way, this high-wired way of deep interaction with strangers you'd never meet, participating or wholly undertaking big decisions and continuous new learning can be strangely addictive.
It takes about a day or two for me to wean off a six day run when I am just ambling about semi-invested at home (though I have found a cheat or two in quickly switching to a book universe to help pad the fall to daily non-A&E civilian existence). I love it and I hate what it does to me: and Sutherland captures that moth-to-the-flame quality so well.
Other than making one fully aware at the work that the police does in your average city, for me the person shone through more with his passion, his work-ethos and the eventual resilience in trying to recover from a mental illness. The bit about domestic violence and broken homes being at the root of much of street violence is something I have now seen being reiterated twice in my this week's readings (last time it was Grayson Perry who was exploring contemporary boyhood/manhood in the excellent Descent of Man) and the bit about Every Contact Matters really ran deep as I was reminded of that fierce Dylan Thomas poem Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night seeing this man recollect honestly a string of events that required courage.
I work everyday with men and women who, like Sutherland, invest their work with such deep care for the people and community around them that their good work and good words scatter inspiration and goodness to all the rest of us humbler mortals. They all go "raging into the night" even as the imperfect system and the indifferent wider society shrugs off their everyday achievements. This memoir made me remember all these quiet angels grafting everyday amidst us and how we need to recognise them and care for them a bit more.
March 4, 2017
A memoir of a senior police officer, John Sutherland. It tells of his time in The Metropolitan police force. It is told with humour and pathos. Told in short soundbites it tells the story of a man desperate to make a difference to the world we live in. The way he throws himself into his police career, rapid rise through the ranks and the sights he sees and the way he deals with it all.
He also is realistic enough to admit that despite his best intentions he really can make little difference.
But he tries and his attempts, long and unsociable hours put a strain on his psyche and plunges him into mental illness.
Putting him ironically in the position off many people he has attempted to help in the past
This is a memoir, of one man's experience, is very personal and at times immensely moving.
It was very easy to read but at the same time thought provoking.
A book I'm glad I got the chance to read and for this my thanks goes to Lovereading for the ARC.
He also is realistic enough to admit that despite his best intentions he really can make little difference.
But he tries and his attempts, long and unsociable hours put a strain on his psyche and plunges him into mental illness.
Putting him ironically in the position off many people he has attempted to help in the past
This is a memoir, of one man's experience, is very personal and at times immensely moving.
It was very easy to read but at the same time thought provoking.
A book I'm glad I got the chance to read and for this my thanks goes to Lovereading for the ARC.
January 7, 2023
This was a very informative and interesting insight into the life of a police office.
We all know police officers don't have the easiest job in the world but only from reading this book do you realise how difficult their job is.
This book covers lots of real life stories which John attended, as he made his way up the ranks.
These stories are often harrowing and heart breaking to read. They are really upsetting and it's no wonder John ended up having a break down.
This book was incredibly eye opening although difficult to read, if you are interested at all the police then you will definitely enjoy reading this book. Highly recommend.
We all know police officers don't have the easiest job in the world but only from reading this book do you realise how difficult their job is.
This book covers lots of real life stories which John attended, as he made his way up the ranks.
These stories are often harrowing and heart breaking to read. They are really upsetting and it's no wonder John ended up having a break down.
This book was incredibly eye opening although difficult to read, if you are interested at all the police then you will definitely enjoy reading this book. Highly recommend.
March 20, 2019
A real life description of life as a police officer. Easy to identify with the authors thoughts and feelings. Not your typical police biography, a true insight to the pressures of the job and where that can lead any one of us. Loved John Sutherland’s gentle and enthusiastic nature which shone throughout.
March 4, 2023
Master piece, really hit home 😔
March 17, 2024
Sad, but true
December 28, 2018
A compelling read. Grateful for his honesty.
September 5, 2023
This book should be made compulsory reading for MP’s of all political parties. Then perhaps they might think twice before scoring cheap political points (why else did Sadiq khan force out Cressida Dick?) and cutting police budgets whilst expecting young men and women in blue to work miracles in order to keep us all safe.
December 18, 2017
Having read a few books of this type from other officers both in the UK and around the world, I had high hopes for this one, I certainly wasn’t disappointed. John Sutherland takes us from his childhood through his policing career and to a point where his mind can’t deal with everything it has seen and dealt with over the years.
Joining the force John threw himself into the work required of him, quickly rising through the ranks. We get a fascinating insight into how incidents such as London terrorist attacks and a number of high profile murders are dealt with on a number different levels and the responsibility that come with the roles undertaken by John, while recognising the ability and bravery of the officers around him.
The book is so honest, not claiming police are perfect and never sugar-coating the police service in London, instead showing what the people in the police service really are. Humans. Humans with emotions and the ability to feel the pain of people, trying their best to find the best way to deal with crime and make the area they work and live a better place.
There were so many chapters throughout the book I wanted to know more on, one of these was how hostage negations work, the training that has to be undertaken for the role and then the raw emotional affects the job can have. The negotiator is attempting to save lives, but it’s not always as simple as that.
Another the riots of 2011, while I know about them from my own memory and how they affected myself personally, I would have loved to know more about the response from the policing force affected the community and if any changes were made within the forces around the UK.
One chapter I’m very glad he decided to include a list of officers who lost their lives in his force from the time he served, by the public these people are sometimes forgotten and the book is a fitting reminder.
In the final two chapters John discusses the end of his operational policing career after he developed overwhelming anxiety leading to depression, the chapters are refreshingly open about mental health from someone in a high pressured environment.
On a final note, at the back it states ‘the first book’ I will be defiantly following the author to look out for more!
Joining the force John threw himself into the work required of him, quickly rising through the ranks. We get a fascinating insight into how incidents such as London terrorist attacks and a number of high profile murders are dealt with on a number different levels and the responsibility that come with the roles undertaken by John, while recognising the ability and bravery of the officers around him.
The book is so honest, not claiming police are perfect and never sugar-coating the police service in London, instead showing what the people in the police service really are. Humans. Humans with emotions and the ability to feel the pain of people, trying their best to find the best way to deal with crime and make the area they work and live a better place.
There were so many chapters throughout the book I wanted to know more on, one of these was how hostage negations work, the training that has to be undertaken for the role and then the raw emotional affects the job can have. The negotiator is attempting to save lives, but it’s not always as simple as that.
Another the riots of 2011, while I know about them from my own memory and how they affected myself personally, I would have loved to know more about the response from the policing force affected the community and if any changes were made within the forces around the UK.
One chapter I’m very glad he decided to include a list of officers who lost their lives in his force from the time he served, by the public these people are sometimes forgotten and the book is a fitting reminder.
In the final two chapters John discusses the end of his operational policing career after he developed overwhelming anxiety leading to depression, the chapters are refreshingly open about mental health from someone in a high pressured environment.
On a final note, at the back it states ‘the first book’ I will be defiantly following the author to look out for more!
April 19, 2019
I served 30+ years in a mainly rural force facing many similar issues but with substantially less volume (and resources - had to get that in!) but this accounts resonates to the extent that it left me in tears on several occasions.
There's food for thought in these pages, particularly for senior cops and those aspiring to such positions.
Policy-makers would also do well to read it and (if their minds are open) gain some sort of understanding of the strange world of the cop.
As one who also has experience of the dark hole of depression associated factors ring true, especially the question: as to "how much of my identity is found in being a police officer" - ouch! I'm sure, however, this feature doesn't just apply to our (past) profession.
There's food for thought in these pages, particularly for senior cops and those aspiring to such positions.
Policy-makers would also do well to read it and (if their minds are open) gain some sort of understanding of the strange world of the cop.
As one who also has experience of the dark hole of depression associated factors ring true, especially the question: as to "how much of my identity is found in being a police officer" - ouch! I'm sure, however, this feature doesn't just apply to our (past) profession.
August 22, 2018
This is the story of John Sutherland, a man who in seemingly the blink of an eye (in my mind at least) rose through the ranks from Probationary PC through to the role of Commander of one of the largest London Police boroughs. It is a completely open account of his life from an unsuccessful and extremely short-lived foray into the world of the criminal, his absolute certainty that he wanted to be a Police Officer, and through to the position which would ultimately be one of the last he held in the Police. We relive the highs, the lows, the joys and the devastation that John Sutherland experienced in his career, and the events which ultimately led to his eventual decline in mental health and the breakdown which ended his time with the Police.
Now this book will not be unique, not because of the subject matter and not because of what John Sutherland did for a living. It won’t be unique in the completely honest way in which he has depicted his life and his illness and he has certainly done that. There are many books which handle the subject of mental health and do so well, as John Sutherland has also done. For me, what made this book a compelling, if somewhat heartbreaking read, is that many of the experiences he talks about, the crimes which he had to attend, the devastation he witnessed around him, were cases which were sadly very familiar to me. All too often a name would be mentioned that I had heard upon the news and which gave me that extra reason to pause and reflect. Because people (me included) always consider the victim when they hear a news report. We often feel sympathy toward the family and perhaps consider how we might cope in similar circumstances. Seldom do we look to the man or woman sat just to the side of the bereaved family member we see in televised appeals, the person, or persons, tasked with bringing justice for the family, and wonder how it is affecting them.
Well – that is this book in a nutshell, although to simplify it that way would be to do it an injustice. But this book does take us on a journey, John Sutherland’s journey, one which I don’t think I could have coped with for as well and as long as he did before it would have taken its toll. It is not just about his time in the Police Service, the book also covers his family life, one which in itself was not without drama. He shows us both the harder elements of his family life such as his father’s unexpected departure from the family home, coping with family illness and through to the happier times when he met his wife and started a family of his own. And it is a truly beautiful thing the way in which he has shown the love he has for his family, and his openness about his father’s death was perhaps one of the most moving parts of the book for me.
Don’t for one minute think that this book is all doom and gloom. There are so many moments which will make you smile, giving you that well needed dose of humour to break the tension or the downbeat nature of some of the stories John Sutherland has to tell. His constant desire to get involved in a decent car chase, often thwarted before they really begin, did bring a smile to my face. And there is one scene, completely cringe inducing, which typifies that kind of gallows humour you associate with the emergency services, and while I’m not going to elaborate here, it is safe to say you will not look at a rotisserie chicken in quite the same way again …
Even if you are not a Police Officer or linked to the Emergency Services in any way, and I am so very, very not, I would still recommend that you read this book. It is written in fluent and engaging style which is accessible to all. It is not simply about a career in the Service but also about the way in which those hidden stresses and pressures can slowly build to a point of total mental breakdown. Mental health still has such a stigma attached to it in all walks of life but especially in a service like the Police where it was once anticipated that they would just ‘suck it up’, and that high divorce rates were just part of the job. There is a reason that a lot of crime writers in the eighties, nineties (and even now) fell back on the old cliché of the world-weary, moderate/high functioning alcoholic, divorced Detective after all …
Thankfully things like PTSD and depression are being taken far more seriously than they once were amongst all of the Emergency Services, but there is still a long way to go to fully understand and support the impact that the pressure of the job can have on the very people we all rely upon and often take for granted. The wonderful folk off all of the Emergency Services deal in the most extreme of circumstances, much of which we general Joe Public cannot begin to fathom, but they are not alone in suffering from issues relating to mental health and so much of this book, especially the final few chapters, resonated with me. John Sutherland has written so eloquently on how his breakdown affected him, of the crippling impact it had upon his health, but also about how the acceptance of his condition and the support he received from those who loved him made the journey back to health slow but achievable.
I wish I could be half as eloquent in telling you why you should read this book because you really should. Funny, moving, candid and often heartbreaking, this is the story of one man in thousands, who sacrificed so much of himself to keep our streets safe and is now finding a way to put himself back together. Much respect felt here and such a well written, absorbing and engaging style of writing that I couldn’t put the book down. If you are a serving Officer yourself, if you are struggling with life in general, if you have mental health issues yourself or you know someone who is one or all of the above, then I’d recommend you read this. You may learn a little about yourself along the way too.
Now this book will not be unique, not because of the subject matter and not because of what John Sutherland did for a living. It won’t be unique in the completely honest way in which he has depicted his life and his illness and he has certainly done that. There are many books which handle the subject of mental health and do so well, as John Sutherland has also done. For me, what made this book a compelling, if somewhat heartbreaking read, is that many of the experiences he talks about, the crimes which he had to attend, the devastation he witnessed around him, were cases which were sadly very familiar to me. All too often a name would be mentioned that I had heard upon the news and which gave me that extra reason to pause and reflect. Because people (me included) always consider the victim when they hear a news report. We often feel sympathy toward the family and perhaps consider how we might cope in similar circumstances. Seldom do we look to the man or woman sat just to the side of the bereaved family member we see in televised appeals, the person, or persons, tasked with bringing justice for the family, and wonder how it is affecting them.
Well – that is this book in a nutshell, although to simplify it that way would be to do it an injustice. But this book does take us on a journey, John Sutherland’s journey, one which I don’t think I could have coped with for as well and as long as he did before it would have taken its toll. It is not just about his time in the Police Service, the book also covers his family life, one which in itself was not without drama. He shows us both the harder elements of his family life such as his father’s unexpected departure from the family home, coping with family illness and through to the happier times when he met his wife and started a family of his own. And it is a truly beautiful thing the way in which he has shown the love he has for his family, and his openness about his father’s death was perhaps one of the most moving parts of the book for me.
Don’t for one minute think that this book is all doom and gloom. There are so many moments which will make you smile, giving you that well needed dose of humour to break the tension or the downbeat nature of some of the stories John Sutherland has to tell. His constant desire to get involved in a decent car chase, often thwarted before they really begin, did bring a smile to my face. And there is one scene, completely cringe inducing, which typifies that kind of gallows humour you associate with the emergency services, and while I’m not going to elaborate here, it is safe to say you will not look at a rotisserie chicken in quite the same way again …
Even if you are not a Police Officer or linked to the Emergency Services in any way, and I am so very, very not, I would still recommend that you read this book. It is written in fluent and engaging style which is accessible to all. It is not simply about a career in the Service but also about the way in which those hidden stresses and pressures can slowly build to a point of total mental breakdown. Mental health still has such a stigma attached to it in all walks of life but especially in a service like the Police where it was once anticipated that they would just ‘suck it up’, and that high divorce rates were just part of the job. There is a reason that a lot of crime writers in the eighties, nineties (and even now) fell back on the old cliché of the world-weary, moderate/high functioning alcoholic, divorced Detective after all …
Thankfully things like PTSD and depression are being taken far more seriously than they once were amongst all of the Emergency Services, but there is still a long way to go to fully understand and support the impact that the pressure of the job can have on the very people we all rely upon and often take for granted. The wonderful folk off all of the Emergency Services deal in the most extreme of circumstances, much of which we general Joe Public cannot begin to fathom, but they are not alone in suffering from issues relating to mental health and so much of this book, especially the final few chapters, resonated with me. John Sutherland has written so eloquently on how his breakdown affected him, of the crippling impact it had upon his health, but also about how the acceptance of his condition and the support he received from those who loved him made the journey back to health slow but achievable.
I wish I could be half as eloquent in telling you why you should read this book because you really should. Funny, moving, candid and often heartbreaking, this is the story of one man in thousands, who sacrificed so much of himself to keep our streets safe and is now finding a way to put himself back together. Much respect felt here and such a well written, absorbing and engaging style of writing that I couldn’t put the book down. If you are a serving Officer yourself, if you are struggling with life in general, if you have mental health issues yourself or you know someone who is one or all of the above, then I’d recommend you read this. You may learn a little about yourself along the way too.
April 26, 2022
Quite possibly the best memoir I have read in a long long time.
Being in "the job" myself, I can totally relate to how Mr Sutherland is feeling.
It portrays how much the public can take our force for granted and it really highlights the magnitude of Police responsibilities.
It's a tough job, but one that we have chosen and someone has to do it.
Interested in this as a career? Must read. Interested just in Policing? Must read. Interested in the effects devastation on a single person? Must read.
Highly recommended.
Being in "the job" myself, I can totally relate to how Mr Sutherland is feeling.
It portrays how much the public can take our force for granted and it really highlights the magnitude of Police responsibilities.
It's a tough job, but one that we have chosen and someone has to do it.
Interested in this as a career? Must read. Interested just in Policing? Must read. Interested in the effects devastation on a single person? Must read.
Highly recommended.
December 28, 2018
A read all cops can relate to, and perhaps others can gain an understanding from.
A job like no other, and yet so hard to explain to those who have not experienced it. This book I think will give some kind of explanation.
An honest and compelling account that goes beyond the practicalities of, “the job”, it’s excitements and frustrations and touches on the toll it takes on the human beings inside the uniform.
Well done Sir! I have nothing but respect for the author, someone who recognises the importance of people and has shown commendable bravery and resilience.
A job like no other, and yet so hard to explain to those who have not experienced it. This book I think will give some kind of explanation.
An honest and compelling account that goes beyond the practicalities of, “the job”, it’s excitements and frustrations and touches on the toll it takes on the human beings inside the uniform.
Well done Sir! I have nothing but respect for the author, someone who recognises the importance of people and has shown commendable bravery and resilience.
January 2, 2019
Superb and heartbreaking
This is precisely the book we need in the midst of austerity, cuts, and the endless press criticism of our police force. In truth, the men and women on the front line of policing are everyday heroes in the most difficult and deeply needed of roles. John Sutherland's account of life in the force is compelling and shockingly moving, and deserves a far wider readership than it will probable achieve. Do read it!
This is precisely the book we need in the midst of austerity, cuts, and the endless press criticism of our police force. In truth, the men and women on the front line of policing are everyday heroes in the most difficult and deeply needed of roles. John Sutherland's account of life in the force is compelling and shockingly moving, and deserves a far wider readership than it will probable achieve. Do read it!
April 6, 2020
There were some very interesting and thought provoking points raised and I was interested to see the scope of the jobs he had done. However, I found they were very surface level and I read some parts as a list of tasks which he did each day and didn’t really feel much emotion for them. I suppose the book isn’t to share case details but it seemed lacking in depth for me. I wanted to know more about anecdote and felt it missed the amusing tone of Adam Kay
July 17, 2022
I struggled with this one. I should have been off-put by the three pages of quotes at the beginning - snippets of critics sentences saying how good it was. Invariably this is not a good sign.
This is a read-on-the-beach book. It’s prose - if it can be called that - has clearly been edited by committee to the point where it’s blandness is its main feature. I do wonder how much of John Sutherland’ voice got left in there. I doubt it’s a lot. And I will return to why that might be the case shortly.
It’s a memoir about a career policeman, his time on the force and his mental break that caused him to leave it.
Oddly though, that break - although being ominously foreshadowed throughout the book - gets one chapter devoted to it. Right at the end, and that’s really it. It’s as if those editing voices thought ‘actually the public would probably be more interested in policing stories than what the job did to you’ and perhaps - only slightly, I mean this as no real criticism, John Sutherland became the thing he tried the hardest not to be - glossing over his own mental health for the sake of the job.
Then there’s the religious moralising. Yes I get it, he’s religious. But not like Graham Greene was, where it caused him to think - really think - about what it meant to live a good life. He’s religious in the way a sermon is. Relentless and self assured. I found it infuriating, particularly the dogmatic ‘this is why people are the way they are today’ tone, as if we have become unmoored from something fundamental. Perhaps one should reflect on societies that are not similarly afflicted and ask oneself whether that is really true. I don’t want to offend but I hated his constant need for prayer and prayer for others. I get the impulse to help. But to pray for those you’re helping? I wouldn’t want you to do it for me, thanks. One particularly odious paragraph had him comparing the old Bailey and St Paul’s cathedral as ‘justice and mercy’ side by side.
This brings me back to my earlier point. The editing committee must have told him to tone down the religiosity in the book, but it still manages to scream out from the pages. It certainly does leave one wondering, not favourably, what was cut out.
Some of the tropes that policing seriously needs to move past are plastered throughout. Locard’s principle is quoted like this is something profound and arcane. It’s taught in high school and has been heavily criticised. Theodore Roosevelts’ quote about the man in the arena. Look at any internet meme for that source of vacuousness. It’s trite, and there is more pseudo wisdom (eg the MLK quotes) in the same bathetic vein.
Sutherland does not come off as an amazingly likeable character im afraid. He has all the hallmarks of an overzealous boss. None of us are without fault in this regard, but some of the time when he was out catching crooks and negotiating I was certainly thinking why isn’t he supervising the troops instead? He is in management, but he can’t seem to leave the track - something he didn’t spend that long on in the first place - behind. Perhaps he doth protest too much.
I am aware this is coming off very negative and I don’t mean it to be. I don’t mean to denigrate what I’m sure are Sutherland’s profound struggles with mental health, despite the minimal air time that was dealt given to it. Certainly I could relate to his description of the time he felt his mind ‘break’. And credit is due for being in that role, in the public eye, and being brave enough to put yourself out there, and write about it. And he sounds like a generally lovely guy, who cared for his colleagues and a job he loved. I don’t think his foray into writing is anything earth shattering. Nonetheless, this world probably needs more zealous Ned-Flanders types a la Sutherland in similar roles than feckless, indolent, or downright bullies that sometimes occupy them.
But to me, this book went wide and by a mile. The bathos, the banality and the moralising did it to me I’m afraid. I couldn’t get past it, although I did finish it. I’m sorry Mr Sutherland, I sympathise greatly with your struggle, but this was a book that I equally struggled to like.
This is a read-on-the-beach book. It’s prose - if it can be called that - has clearly been edited by committee to the point where it’s blandness is its main feature. I do wonder how much of John Sutherland’ voice got left in there. I doubt it’s a lot. And I will return to why that might be the case shortly.
It’s a memoir about a career policeman, his time on the force and his mental break that caused him to leave it.
Oddly though, that break - although being ominously foreshadowed throughout the book - gets one chapter devoted to it. Right at the end, and that’s really it. It’s as if those editing voices thought ‘actually the public would probably be more interested in policing stories than what the job did to you’ and perhaps - only slightly, I mean this as no real criticism, John Sutherland became the thing he tried the hardest not to be - glossing over his own mental health for the sake of the job.
Then there’s the religious moralising. Yes I get it, he’s religious. But not like Graham Greene was, where it caused him to think - really think - about what it meant to live a good life. He’s religious in the way a sermon is. Relentless and self assured. I found it infuriating, particularly the dogmatic ‘this is why people are the way they are today’ tone, as if we have become unmoored from something fundamental. Perhaps one should reflect on societies that are not similarly afflicted and ask oneself whether that is really true. I don’t want to offend but I hated his constant need for prayer and prayer for others. I get the impulse to help. But to pray for those you’re helping? I wouldn’t want you to do it for me, thanks. One particularly odious paragraph had him comparing the old Bailey and St Paul’s cathedral as ‘justice and mercy’ side by side.
This brings me back to my earlier point. The editing committee must have told him to tone down the religiosity in the book, but it still manages to scream out from the pages. It certainly does leave one wondering, not favourably, what was cut out.
Some of the tropes that policing seriously needs to move past are plastered throughout. Locard’s principle is quoted like this is something profound and arcane. It’s taught in high school and has been heavily criticised. Theodore Roosevelts’ quote about the man in the arena. Look at any internet meme for that source of vacuousness. It’s trite, and there is more pseudo wisdom (eg the MLK quotes) in the same bathetic vein.
Sutherland does not come off as an amazingly likeable character im afraid. He has all the hallmarks of an overzealous boss. None of us are without fault in this regard, but some of the time when he was out catching crooks and negotiating I was certainly thinking why isn’t he supervising the troops instead? He is in management, but he can’t seem to leave the track - something he didn’t spend that long on in the first place - behind. Perhaps he doth protest too much.
I am aware this is coming off very negative and I don’t mean it to be. I don’t mean to denigrate what I’m sure are Sutherland’s profound struggles with mental health, despite the minimal air time that was dealt given to it. Certainly I could relate to his description of the time he felt his mind ‘break’. And credit is due for being in that role, in the public eye, and being brave enough to put yourself out there, and write about it. And he sounds like a generally lovely guy, who cared for his colleagues and a job he loved. I don’t think his foray into writing is anything earth shattering. Nonetheless, this world probably needs more zealous Ned-Flanders types a la Sutherland in similar roles than feckless, indolent, or downright bullies that sometimes occupy them.
But to me, this book went wide and by a mile. The bathos, the banality and the moralising did it to me I’m afraid. I couldn’t get past it, although I did finish it. I’m sorry Mr Sutherland, I sympathise greatly with your struggle, but this was a book that I equally struggled to like.
June 7, 2017
It is all too easy to take our police force for granted. With most of what they do on a daily basis unpublicised by the media, the difficult and dangerous situations they perpetually have to deal with quite often go unnoticed. It is this simple fact that makes John Sutherland's memoir such an important book to read.
Written in chronological order, every chapter is broken up into a series of individual blocks of text. Each depicts a different incident in the author's life and career, and together they read like diary entries. This device gives the book a sense of urgency, as well as making it easier to read. As it is not always convenient to read a book all in one sitting, it also allows the reader to occasionally pause, without spoiling the impact.
Unlike a lot of autobiographies, this one is far from mundane. It is compelling reading and moves at an incredibly fast pace. Throughout the book, Sutherland is completely honest, cataloguing not only his successes but also his failures.
Given his background, and non-aggressive personality, policing seems at first to be a strange vocation for Sutherland to have chosen. However, the more you read, the more obvious it becomes it is his deep religious faith – together with the love and support of his wife and children – that provide the strength for him do the job. It is also evident he is a person of high morals, with a strong sense of justice and genuine desire to help people
His amusing accounts of mistakes made as a rookie copper will make you laugh. Equally, however, his heartfelt despair at the death of a man on his watch – while working as a hostage negotiator – will just as easily pull at your heartstrings. However, one thing it will not do is bore you.
From the moment Sutherland joined the police force, his rise through the ranks was somewhat meteoric, but it did not come without its fair share of heartache and, at times, life-threatening incidents. However, far from over-dramatising the part he played, he relates each episode with a quiet modesty that underplays the immense bravery required to do the job.
But everyone has their limits, and the effects of all the trauma and daily encounters with the underbelly of human life, finally took their toll. As with many police officers and emergency servicemen and women, it eventually became too much to cope with and depression claimed him. As a result, he was reluctantly forced to re-evaluate his career.
Churchill used to refer to his depression as his 'Black Dog', while Spike Milligan maintained it was like trying to unsuccessfully struggle your way out from beneath an enormously heavy duvet. Whichever way you look at it, it is all-consuming and devastating.
Unlike physical wounds, psychological illnesses are far harder to deal with, and depression is no exception. John's open and honest account of his particular emotional battle – and the effect it had on those closest to him – pulls no punches. Those readers who have also suffered from this hidden monster will empathise with how he felt, while those who have not will benefit from the insight into this debilitating illness.
Sutherland's book is powerful and informative without resorting to sensationalism. Coinciding with the recent wave of terrorist attacks, it is a poignant reminder of how reliant we are on the police.
Written in chronological order, every chapter is broken up into a series of individual blocks of text. Each depicts a different incident in the author's life and career, and together they read like diary entries. This device gives the book a sense of urgency, as well as making it easier to read. As it is not always convenient to read a book all in one sitting, it also allows the reader to occasionally pause, without spoiling the impact.
Unlike a lot of autobiographies, this one is far from mundane. It is compelling reading and moves at an incredibly fast pace. Throughout the book, Sutherland is completely honest, cataloguing not only his successes but also his failures.
Given his background, and non-aggressive personality, policing seems at first to be a strange vocation for Sutherland to have chosen. However, the more you read, the more obvious it becomes it is his deep religious faith – together with the love and support of his wife and children – that provide the strength for him do the job. It is also evident he is a person of high morals, with a strong sense of justice and genuine desire to help people
His amusing accounts of mistakes made as a rookie copper will make you laugh. Equally, however, his heartfelt despair at the death of a man on his watch – while working as a hostage negotiator – will just as easily pull at your heartstrings. However, one thing it will not do is bore you.
From the moment Sutherland joined the police force, his rise through the ranks was somewhat meteoric, but it did not come without its fair share of heartache and, at times, life-threatening incidents. However, far from over-dramatising the part he played, he relates each episode with a quiet modesty that underplays the immense bravery required to do the job.
But everyone has their limits, and the effects of all the trauma and daily encounters with the underbelly of human life, finally took their toll. As with many police officers and emergency servicemen and women, it eventually became too much to cope with and depression claimed him. As a result, he was reluctantly forced to re-evaluate his career.
Churchill used to refer to his depression as his 'Black Dog', while Spike Milligan maintained it was like trying to unsuccessfully struggle your way out from beneath an enormously heavy duvet. Whichever way you look at it, it is all-consuming and devastating.
Unlike physical wounds, psychological illnesses are far harder to deal with, and depression is no exception. John's open and honest account of his particular emotional battle – and the effect it had on those closest to him – pulls no punches. Those readers who have also suffered from this hidden monster will empathise with how he felt, while those who have not will benefit from the insight into this debilitating illness.
Sutherland's book is powerful and informative without resorting to sensationalism. Coinciding with the recent wave of terrorist attacks, it is a poignant reminder of how reliant we are on the police.
October 27, 2019
I can't really write a review that does any justice to this book or to the life that John has shared. I met him at a book event in Middlesex where he spoke very openly and pssionately. I left with a copy of his book and an immediate desire to read it. I have never in my life truly understood the effort, selfless dedication and trauma involved in being a police officer, or any emergency service.
I really liked the way the book is laid out. When I first started reading it I thought it would be great to be bale to read a little and put it down and go back to inbetween everything else that I had to do. What I found was that his storytelling was so incredibly honest, emotional and powerful that I simply couldn't put it down and I read it in just under 2 days.
I have always had a huge respect for the police, always taught children that they are to be seen as a force of good and someone you can rely on no matter what. I had never thought about the long term effects of government cuts, funding or the insurmountable trauma that they face on a rergular basis. These people are there to help and support us, to keep us safe and I now have an even bigger respect and desire to support them than ever before.
I taught my kids to hi-5 police officers and other emergency responders as it's less formal than a handshake, less intimidating but the physical contact provides a huge boost to both people involved. It shows my kids that they are approachable and safe. We ALWAYS ask them for a Hi-5 and respect if the answer is no, becuase I want my children to be lead and to lead by example. This book and Johns story of the lady in Church is a prime example of how we can show our appreciation and give back in little ways. How the simple gestures can really help boost morale and Johns tales of humour show us how human these people really are. It's incredible, it's one of my top 5 books this year and will stay with me, no doubt, for many years to come.
I will say no matter what your profession, or what you do in life, this book will open your eyes to the impact of Trauma and the humanity of the boys in blue (and all the emergency services). It's a window to discussions about mental health and stigma, to incredible strength and motivation. This book has changed me. I don't believe it would be possible to read it and not be changed by the inspiration and events that unfold.
I can't reccomend it highly enough, though you may want to check for potential triggers if you have experienced trauma yourself. I cannot thank John enough for the bravery of his years serving and portecting us, but more recently in sharing his story and continuing to advocate for the Police who are working to protect us now.
Hi-5 John, Hi-5!
I really liked the way the book is laid out. When I first started reading it I thought it would be great to be bale to read a little and put it down and go back to inbetween everything else that I had to do. What I found was that his storytelling was so incredibly honest, emotional and powerful that I simply couldn't put it down and I read it in just under 2 days.
I have always had a huge respect for the police, always taught children that they are to be seen as a force of good and someone you can rely on no matter what. I had never thought about the long term effects of government cuts, funding or the insurmountable trauma that they face on a rergular basis. These people are there to help and support us, to keep us safe and I now have an even bigger respect and desire to support them than ever before.
I taught my kids to hi-5 police officers and other emergency responders as it's less formal than a handshake, less intimidating but the physical contact provides a huge boost to both people involved. It shows my kids that they are approachable and safe. We ALWAYS ask them for a Hi-5 and respect if the answer is no, becuase I want my children to be lead and to lead by example. This book and Johns story of the lady in Church is a prime example of how we can show our appreciation and give back in little ways. How the simple gestures can really help boost morale and Johns tales of humour show us how human these people really are. It's incredible, it's one of my top 5 books this year and will stay with me, no doubt, for many years to come.
I will say no matter what your profession, or what you do in life, this book will open your eyes to the impact of Trauma and the humanity of the boys in blue (and all the emergency services). It's a window to discussions about mental health and stigma, to incredible strength and motivation. This book has changed me. I don't believe it would be possible to read it and not be changed by the inspiration and events that unfold.
I can't reccomend it highly enough, though you may want to check for potential triggers if you have experienced trauma yourself. I cannot thank John enough for the bravery of his years serving and portecting us, but more recently in sharing his story and continuing to advocate for the Police who are working to protect us now.
Hi-5 John, Hi-5!
June 19, 2017
A compelling memoir of policing and breakdown (and recovery) which I am delighted to have shared with my father, a retired police officer and have recommended to a relative just starting out in his police career. It has the air of something written from the heart and not overly managed by an editor. I usually regret this but here I feel that overall it works better - it is a little like a series of memories and reflections as notes, gathered together, so there's repetition. This means that strong themes are allowed to run through - the main one being Sutherland's conviction that growing up with violence in the home underpins so very much of what the police are eventually called to deal with. I thought the relentless stream of paragraphs, little more sometimes, about individual cases conveyed the realities of policing - get in, do the job, move on... but with the 'contact leaving a trace' (the names, he doesn't forget the names, my Dad doesn't forget the names, they are not important to the listeners but they are to the teller... I believe they are a placeholder for the real impact on the individual police officer.)
It is very much the account of a Metropolitan police officer... I have been keenly aware of the difference between the Met and to a lesser extent other big city policing and the rest of the UK all my life. And it brought home to me that I am really not an adrenalin junkie (as he can no longer be either)
His account of growing up as the son of a vicar who had bipolar disorder is fascinating (and the account of his parents' later years tremendously moving). I'd've liked more on the impact of his degree subject on his attitudes to policing (he may not know it is there, I think it is) I'd also have liked more on his faith and his church going (which may well from the odd hint be quite different things) I take careful note (because I was waiting for it) of his wife's occupation (in contrast to his statement that officers often marry within the police or A&E staff) She holds the fort although he writes about the pace of London life even outside work and how his family suggest he slows that down but I needed examples of what he meant. There was also not enough to flesh out the personalities of his colleagues (perhaps he was being delicate).
A particularly timely read.
It is very much the account of a Metropolitan police officer... I have been keenly aware of the difference between the Met and to a lesser extent other big city policing and the rest of the UK all my life. And it brought home to me that I am really not an adrenalin junkie (as he can no longer be either)
His account of growing up as the son of a vicar who had bipolar disorder is fascinating (and the account of his parents' later years tremendously moving). I'd've liked more on the impact of his degree subject on his attitudes to policing (he may not know it is there, I think it is) I'd also have liked more on his faith and his church going (which may well from the odd hint be quite different things) I take careful note (because I was waiting for it) of his wife's occupation (in contrast to his statement that officers often marry within the police or A&E staff) She holds the fort although he writes about the pace of London life even outside work and how his family suggest he slows that down but I needed examples of what he meant. There was also not enough to flesh out the personalities of his colleagues (perhaps he was being delicate).
A particularly timely read.
March 31, 2023
Taken from the book. "John Sutherland joined the Met in 1992, having dreamed of being a police officer since his teens. Rising quickly through the ranks and compelled by the opportunity to make a real difference to people's lives, he worked across the capital, experiencing first-hand the enormous satisfaction as well as the endless trauma that a life in blue can bring.
There were remarkable, career-defining moments: commanding armed sieges, saving lives 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.
In early 2013, John suffered a major breakdown and consequent battle with crippling depression. After a career spent racing to be the first at the scene of crimes and catastrophes, he found himself in pieces, unable to put one foot in front of the other."
I found the book to be interesting and eye opening. John Sutherland walks you through his life as a police officer and his personal life. It is hard to be married to your job and be dedicated to your family at the same time. He tells stories about his experiences while on the job and wow he has been through some things. I have a few complaints. The setup of some of the stories had very little or no beginning, middle and end to them. This drives me crazy plus the lack of life and feeling in the stories had me wondering where the editors were. John Sutherland chapters about dealing his Mental state was a much needed read. Everyone deals or don't deal with things the same way and I needed to hear that. Some of the stories in here will stay with me and happy I read it.
Quote from the book I liked.
"Each little story stays with me. Each leaves a mark on my soul."
There were remarkable, career-defining moments: commanding armed sieges, saving lives 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.
In early 2013, John suffered a major breakdown and consequent battle with crippling depression. After a career spent racing to be the first at the scene of crimes and catastrophes, he found himself in pieces, unable to put one foot in front of the other."
I found the book to be interesting and eye opening. John Sutherland walks you through his life as a police officer and his personal life. It is hard to be married to your job and be dedicated to your family at the same time. He tells stories about his experiences while on the job and wow he has been through some things. I have a few complaints. The setup of some of the stories had very little or no beginning, middle and end to them. This drives me crazy plus the lack of life and feeling in the stories had me wondering where the editors were. John Sutherland chapters about dealing his Mental state was a much needed read. Everyone deals or don't deal with things the same way and I needed to hear that. Some of the stories in here will stay with me and happy I read it.
Quote from the book I liked.
"Each little story stays with me. Each leaves a mark on my soul."
January 23, 2018
This is the best book that I have read for a long, long time. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in policing, the challenges of modern society, or simply our common humanity. It is both moving and inspiring and gives wonderful insight into the life of a London policeman.
I bought this book as background reading to inform my own crime-writing. It did serve that purpose. I am now considerably more knowledgeable about many aspects of police procedure and the variety of specialist roles within the police service.
However, this book is much more than a simple police memoir. After only a few chapters, it has provided me with an idea for a sermon. It was not long before my copy was bristling with bookmarks and annotated to highlight key phrases and paragraphs, which I intend to draw on in my work as a Methodist Local Preacher. That is not to say that it is “preachy” or attempts to promote any religious viewpoint. It is simply that so much is observed. John Sutherland’s faith is real, but not something to be talked about. He sums it up near the end of the book:
“But faith? The truth is, I am less certain of more things than I have ever been before. I have many more questions than I have answers. but I have begun to discover this thing called grace: the rumour that I am loved beyond measure, just as I am.”
Thank you, John, for writing this inspiring book.
I bought this book as background reading to inform my own crime-writing. It did serve that purpose. I am now considerably more knowledgeable about many aspects of police procedure and the variety of specialist roles within the police service.
However, this book is much more than a simple police memoir. After only a few chapters, it has provided me with an idea for a sermon. It was not long before my copy was bristling with bookmarks and annotated to highlight key phrases and paragraphs, which I intend to draw on in my work as a Methodist Local Preacher. That is not to say that it is “preachy” or attempts to promote any religious viewpoint. It is simply that so much is observed. John Sutherland’s faith is real, but not something to be talked about. He sums it up near the end of the book:
“But faith? The truth is, I am less certain of more things than I have ever been before. I have many more questions than I have answers. but I have begun to discover this thing called grace: the rumour that I am loved beyond measure, just as I am.”
Thank you, John, for writing this inspiring book.
February 15, 2021
Sincere. Touching. Profound.
Blue: A Memoir - Keeping the Peace and Falling to Pieces is a detailed account of the rise and metaphorical fall of dedicated Met Police Officer John Sutherland. Sutherland begins the book as he joins the service and charters his career through a mixture of accounts from the frontline and experiences as management as he progressed in rank. Blue: A Memoir - Keeping the Peace and Falling to Pieces really brings in to sharp focus the sheer intensity of the demands placed on every member of the British Police Service. With failing and underfunded social support systems the Police are dealing with an increasing number of mental health related calls, repeat domestic events and prolific knife attacks. This novel highlights the rising risks to the physical and predominantly mental health of officers and the lack of support available to them., often not realising help is needed until it is too late.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
Blue: A Memoir - Keeping the Peace and Falling to Pieces is a detailed account of the rise and metaphorical fall of dedicated Met Police Officer John Sutherland. Sutherland begins the book as he joins the service and charters his career through a mixture of accounts from the frontline and experiences as management as he progressed in rank. Blue: A Memoir - Keeping the Peace and Falling to Pieces really brings in to sharp focus the sheer intensity of the demands placed on every member of the British Police Service. With failing and underfunded social support systems the Police are dealing with an increasing number of mental health related calls, repeat domestic events and prolific knife attacks. This novel highlights the rising risks to the physical and predominantly mental health of officers and the lack of support available to them., often not realising help is needed until it is too late.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
August 28, 2017
Excellent insight into the life of a policeman. The book illuminates the extraordinary job the majority of our police do, in very challenging circumstances. This is a book from the 'heart', from a man fiercely loyal to the force, but also willing to be open and honest about it's shortcomings as well as its inestimable worth and value. This is a book that all should read, teenagers, the general public, politicians and not least the popular press. At a time when there appears so much vitriol towards the establishment and so much populist politics, this book helps to reset the balance in a small way. A brave and honourable man, ambitious and driven, and ultimately paying a high price for experiencing so many traumas and living in a world most of us thankfully never see. The overwhelming message for me lies in the epidemic levels of domestic violence which appears to be a root cause behind so many crimes and breakdowns in society. The secondary area lies in how a multitude of stressful experiences can build up and bring us tumbling down, least when we expect it. A great book, a real insight into the ills of our society and the inspirational and invaluable role of our police force and the majority within it. Well done - an example to all and good luck in restructuring your life
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