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Cabbie with a Dangerous Mind
This book is entitled ‘Cabbie with a Dangerous Mind’ for a reason, mainly because it’s the story of Billy, an East London cab driver who’s been diagnosed with Bipolar and who suffers manic episodes while driving his cab around London.
He has elevated mood swings and uncontrollable depression, and because his manic states often turn into psychotic episodes, Billy begins to suspect that the label ‘bipolar’ is just a cop-out from the medical fraternity because they don’t know what to do with him. He realises he’s possibly a psychotic depressive or even a schizophrenic, and yet he has no one to turn to.
His one love is Jelly, a drug addict, although neither of them realise how much they’ve come to rely on each other.
Billy’s life is unravelling fast. He’s prone to violent rages, and his distortion can change whilst driving as time slows down and speeds up again and buildings starts to move. Billy writes with intelligence about his life, and the advice that you really shouldn’t be getting in his cab is sound. Billy has suicidal thoughts whilst driving.
The book is peppered with characters; oddballs, weirdoes, comedians, eccentrics, head cases, prima donnas and hard cases …… and they’re just the drivers!
‘Cabbie with a Dangerous Mind’ will make you laugh, cry and hopefully raise awareness of Mental Health issues in the community. That it’s more common than we realise, and it’s okay not to be okay. It’s okay to talk about it, and it’s okay not to talk about it.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental
He has elevated mood swings and uncontrollable depression, and because his manic states often turn into psychotic episodes, Billy begins to suspect that the label ‘bipolar’ is just a cop-out from the medical fraternity because they don’t know what to do with him. He realises he’s possibly a psychotic depressive or even a schizophrenic, and yet he has no one to turn to.
His one love is Jelly, a drug addict, although neither of them realise how much they’ve come to rely on each other.
Billy’s life is unravelling fast. He’s prone to violent rages, and his distortion can change whilst driving as time slows down and speeds up again and buildings starts to move. Billy writes with intelligence about his life, and the advice that you really shouldn’t be getting in his cab is sound. Billy has suicidal thoughts whilst driving.
The book is peppered with characters; oddballs, weirdoes, comedians, eccentrics, head cases, prima donnas and hard cases …… and they’re just the drivers!
‘Cabbie with a Dangerous Mind’ will make you laugh, cry and hopefully raise awareness of Mental Health issues in the community. That it’s more common than we realise, and it’s okay not to be okay. It’s okay to talk about it, and it’s okay not to talk about it.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental
142 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 21, 2020
3 people are currently reading
333 people want to read
About the author
Karl Wiggins
25 books323 followersKarl Wiggins – Author, humourist, raconteur and (unfortunately) master of dysphemism
I'm an author with seven books on Amazon Kindle, and I'll state right from the start that I have a particular aversion to fellow authors who befriend you and then immediately message you saying, "You might like my book ..... check it out."
I don't do that. If people wish to know more about my books the information is here to read, but I won't invade your personal space (not to mention precious time) with pleas to check out my own books
My goal, my life’s ambition if you like, is to give direction to comedy, purpose to satire. And this is probably why I write the way I do, in order to use self-deprecating, piss-taking humour to bring to the fore situations that just don’t stack up. To demonstrate that serious issues can be approached with humour.
Embarrassingly, a number of the reviews for my books seem to involve people losing control of their bladder; “Anyone who is a bit saucy, very fond of boobies and doesn't mind peeing slightly when they laugh too hard, this is the book for you!” “Best not to read this book on the train if you have a full bladder because by the end of your journey you will have a damp patch in an embarrassing place.” “I have to admit that I wet myself twice while reading it but this may in part have been due to my age and a couple of bottles of a fine St. Emilion,” “Due to the laughter you owe my secretary one clean pair of knickers.”
Two reviewers have even suggested I should tour as a stand-up comedian; “I found myself laughing out-loud and even sharing segments with my spouse ….. I think Karl could tour as a stand-up comedian,” “Mr Wiggins has views on life that are expressed in a manner worthy of any stand-up comedian.”
So my scribblings do seem to raise a smile and a chuckle, and either way you look at it, that has to be a good thing. Hardly any subject is taboo to the Englishman when he’s laughing, and this often seems insensitive to other cultures, but the bedrock of the British sense of humour is a strong sense of sarcasm and self-deprecation. The British can be very passionate – and if you doubt that try going to a football match - but that passion is hidden deep in our humour so that other nationals often fail to recognise the deadpan delivery and are never quite sure if they’ve been involved in a serious conversation or just a little bit of friendly banter.
Having said that my style of writing is now appealing more and more to the American market, and I write a regular column for a newsletter in Copiague, Long Island, New York. I’m really enjoying connecting with the people over there.
Interestingly enough, my writing style has been compared to two people, both now dead, Charles Bukowski and Socrates. Their names keep popping up in reviews; “Mr Bukowski, meet Socrates. This is an exceptionally amusing collection of observations of daily life,” “The prose style reminded me quite a lot of Charles Bukowski’s short essays and observations,” “It reminded me a lot of Bukowski’s novels, but particularly Factotum and Post Office,” “Had me laughing out loud several times, which doesn’t happen often to me. It reminded me a lot of Bukowski’s novels,” (I swear those are two completely separate reviewers), “Karl Wiggins is like a contemporary Socrates.”
I’m sure both Socrates and Charles Bukowski would turn in their graves. But then again, maybe not.
My books;
'You Really are full of Shit, Aren't You?' is my latest and possible my favourite. It's an agony uncle / advice columnist style book, but unlike most agony aunts I cut them no slack.
I'll be the first to admit that 'Dogshit Saved my Life' and 'Calico Jack in your Garden' are not to everyone's taste, but the reviews are good, so I seem to be hitting the right note.
'Shit my History Teacher DID NOT tell me' kind of speaks for itself I guess, as does 'Grit - The Banter & Brutality of the Late-Night Cab Driver.' I drove cab in b
I'm an author with seven books on Amazon Kindle, and I'll state right from the start that I have a particular aversion to fellow authors who befriend you and then immediately message you saying, "You might like my book ..... check it out."
I don't do that. If people wish to know more about my books the information is here to read, but I won't invade your personal space (not to mention precious time) with pleas to check out my own books
My goal, my life’s ambition if you like, is to give direction to comedy, purpose to satire. And this is probably why I write the way I do, in order to use self-deprecating, piss-taking humour to bring to the fore situations that just don’t stack up. To demonstrate that serious issues can be approached with humour.
Embarrassingly, a number of the reviews for my books seem to involve people losing control of their bladder; “Anyone who is a bit saucy, very fond of boobies and doesn't mind peeing slightly when they laugh too hard, this is the book for you!” “Best not to read this book on the train if you have a full bladder because by the end of your journey you will have a damp patch in an embarrassing place.” “I have to admit that I wet myself twice while reading it but this may in part have been due to my age and a couple of bottles of a fine St. Emilion,” “Due to the laughter you owe my secretary one clean pair of knickers.”
Two reviewers have even suggested I should tour as a stand-up comedian; “I found myself laughing out-loud and even sharing segments with my spouse ….. I think Karl could tour as a stand-up comedian,” “Mr Wiggins has views on life that are expressed in a manner worthy of any stand-up comedian.”
So my scribblings do seem to raise a smile and a chuckle, and either way you look at it, that has to be a good thing. Hardly any subject is taboo to the Englishman when he’s laughing, and this often seems insensitive to other cultures, but the bedrock of the British sense of humour is a strong sense of sarcasm and self-deprecation. The British can be very passionate – and if you doubt that try going to a football match - but that passion is hidden deep in our humour so that other nationals often fail to recognise the deadpan delivery and are never quite sure if they’ve been involved in a serious conversation or just a little bit of friendly banter.
Having said that my style of writing is now appealing more and more to the American market, and I write a regular column for a newsletter in Copiague, Long Island, New York. I’m really enjoying connecting with the people over there.
Interestingly enough, my writing style has been compared to two people, both now dead, Charles Bukowski and Socrates. Their names keep popping up in reviews; “Mr Bukowski, meet Socrates. This is an exceptionally amusing collection of observations of daily life,” “The prose style reminded me quite a lot of Charles Bukowski’s short essays and observations,” “It reminded me a lot of Bukowski’s novels, but particularly Factotum and Post Office,” “Had me laughing out loud several times, which doesn’t happen often to me. It reminded me a lot of Bukowski’s novels,” (I swear those are two completely separate reviewers), “Karl Wiggins is like a contemporary Socrates.”
I’m sure both Socrates and Charles Bukowski would turn in their graves. But then again, maybe not.
My books;
'You Really are full of Shit, Aren't You?' is my latest and possible my favourite. It's an agony uncle / advice columnist style book, but unlike most agony aunts I cut them no slack.
I'll be the first to admit that 'Dogshit Saved my Life' and 'Calico Jack in your Garden' are not to everyone's taste, but the reviews are good, so I seem to be hitting the right note.
'Shit my History Teacher DID NOT tell me' kind of speaks for itself I guess, as does 'Grit - The Banter & Brutality of the Late-Night Cab Driver.' I drove cab in b
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 3, 2024
An unexpected finish!
I've never read anything like this before, but because I have an interest in mental health, I thought I'd give it a go!
Billy is a London cab driver. And appears to be a normal everyday bloke to the outside world. But Billy is a fighter, in more ways than one. He suffers with, a severe mental health issue, and has a daily battle to keep his thoughts, his feelings, and his behaviour in check. High as a kite one minute, suicidal the next. Would you climb into his cab if you knew? Perhaps not!
Living with severe mental illness, even in our enlightened times, still carries a stigma. People still label sufferers as, wackos, nut jobs, weirdos, avoiding them at all costs.. Most likely, you don't know anyone who suffers with mental illness. But you might! Sufferers, like Billy, battle on, doing their best to hide their illness from friends and family, out of fear mostly. They just want to be one of the lads, or one of the girls. They want the noise in their heads to stop and their pain to just go away.
Karl Wiggins has written a thought- provoking piece of fiction that kept my intrigue all the way through. His writing is superb, and there's humour to be found too. And an ending that I didn't see coming. A very good read. Highly recommended!
I've never read anything like this before, but because I have an interest in mental health, I thought I'd give it a go!
Billy is a London cab driver. And appears to be a normal everyday bloke to the outside world. But Billy is a fighter, in more ways than one. He suffers with, a severe mental health issue, and has a daily battle to keep his thoughts, his feelings, and his behaviour in check. High as a kite one minute, suicidal the next. Would you climb into his cab if you knew? Perhaps not!
Living with severe mental illness, even in our enlightened times, still carries a stigma. People still label sufferers as, wackos, nut jobs, weirdos, avoiding them at all costs.. Most likely, you don't know anyone who suffers with mental illness. But you might! Sufferers, like Billy, battle on, doing their best to hide their illness from friends and family, out of fear mostly. They just want to be one of the lads, or one of the girls. They want the noise in their heads to stop and their pain to just go away.
Karl Wiggins has written a thought- provoking piece of fiction that kept my intrigue all the way through. His writing is superb, and there's humour to be found too. And an ending that I didn't see coming. A very good read. Highly recommended!
May 3, 2024
unique
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like this before. As a reader, we are really thrown in at the deep end of the main character’s mental illness. The whole book is written from the cabbie’s perspective and it’s eye opening to say the least. I’ve read another by Karl Wiggins, but this is the first fiction book I’ve read. One thing that stands out above all else is Wiggins’s voice. It is undeniably unique, and I’m fairly certain I could pick this authors work out of an anonymous lineup! Some hard hitting stuff with a unique perspective and a really honest look at mental health. This book, like the cabbie who narrates the story, is rough around the edges, but I actually really loved it.
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like this before. As a reader, we are really thrown in at the deep end of the main character’s mental illness. The whole book is written from the cabbie’s perspective and it’s eye opening to say the least. I’ve read another by Karl Wiggins, but this is the first fiction book I’ve read. One thing that stands out above all else is Wiggins’s voice. It is undeniably unique, and I’m fairly certain I could pick this authors work out of an anonymous lineup! Some hard hitting stuff with a unique perspective and a really honest look at mental health. This book, like the cabbie who narrates the story, is rough around the edges, but I actually really loved it.
January 1, 2022
Cabbies job is rarely dull
Cabbies meet the most interesting people in their job. Some are nice and then there's the ones who try to skip out on the fare.
You also have the drunks, chatterboxes, and the frisky riders.
As a customer, you never know what your cabbie will be like. He might stink due to crap on his shoes. (Story reference)
They might also be suffering from a mental disorder.
This story shares stories about riders, fights, incident that involved the law, and insights in the mind of a cabbie who has mental issues. It was unlike any book I've read before.
Check it out!
Cabbies meet the most interesting people in their job. Some are nice and then there's the ones who try to skip out on the fare.
You also have the drunks, chatterboxes, and the frisky riders.
As a customer, you never know what your cabbie will be like. He might stink due to crap on his shoes. (Story reference)
They might also be suffering from a mental disorder.
This story shares stories about riders, fights, incident that involved the law, and insights in the mind of a cabbie who has mental issues. It was unlike any book I've read before.
Check it out!
November 4, 2025
53% in on page 73/135. At least I got to half way. I thought maybe I can get through it cuz at times it’s kiiinda entertaining but the boring slow bits dragged me out of the game. Favorite parts were his rampage of one story per paragraph style of his pickups, of course right? That’s the easy blast read stuff. 2-3 stars of 5. Prob 2 cuz I dropped it. Zero real laughs from me while reading. Seems aight but not my thing. Happy to move on
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews