Blue

A Memoir – Keeping the Peace and Falling to Pieces

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Blue

By: John Sutherland

Narrated by: Charles Armstrong

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Summary

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.©2017 John Sutherland

John SutherlandCharles ArmstrongWeidenfeld & Nicolson

Mental Health

Psychology

Psychology & Mental Health

True Crime

Memoir

Inspiring

Heartfelt

Health

Crime

Mental Health Psychology Psychology & Mental Health True Crime Memoir Inspiring Heartfelt Health Crime

Critic reviews

This courageous and finely written book is a timely invitation to think more deeply about what we ask of our police (Jane Shilling)

A stark account of a talented police officer's breakdown . . . This is a startlingly honest book and the final two chapters are heartbreaking (Richard Morrison)

I read BLUE more or less in one sitting. I thought it was wonderful - very powerful, deeply moving and utterly honest (Henry Marsh, author of DO NO HARM)

Admirably honest and movingly human . . . Sutherland asks us to look behind the faceless blue and see the individual people

A remarkable book: a magnum opus on belief and success, on depression and despair. It is well written and intellectually demanding, profound and deeply moving. In places, it is funny; everywhere, it is thoughtful. It has as much to tell us about mental illness as it does about policing. And there is much love in it: for friends, for family, for life (Alastair Stewart)

An honest look at the vulnerability that comes with bravery

Brave and very honest (Bear Grylls)

The effect of this honesty is to leave us both more appreciative of police officers and more concerned for their well-being, as well as encouraged that such a compassionate man was promoted so vertiginously. [Sutherland] describes police work as "fulfilling, humbling, inspiring, daunting, shattering, rewarding and soul-stirring" which is also a fair description of his book

Courageous and moving (Tom Harper, THE SUNDAY TIMES Home Affairs Correspondent)

John Sutherland lays out the human cost of working as a police officer in simple, devastating terms

A gripping book . . . moving and really powerful . . . I highly recommend it (Jumoke Fashola)

Will expand people's understanding of what it means to be a police officer in Britain today, revealing the truth about the toll that a career in policing can have on those tasked with the responsibility of tackling crime. This is a brave and compelling account of policing from a very senior officer in the most renowned police force in the world (Colin Taylor, author of LIFE OF A SCILLY SERGEANT)

I commend it to the public. It's a great book (Cressida Dick, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service)

A superb book (Charles Cumming)

A remarkable, revealing and inspiring insight into the worlds of the police and the policed. The stories told are by turns heart-warming and saddening, moving and maddening - it is an account of the very best and the very worst of our society. It is a book which should be required reading for all who aspire to public office, in any sector and at every level (John Nichol, author of TORNADO DOWN)

A fascinating, powerful and beautifully written insight into the life of a police officer (Dan Walker, journalist and broadcaster)

A remarkable, honest account of twenty years in policing (Sophy Ridge, journalist and broadcaster)

Most relevant

A really enjoyable listen, I would highly recommend to anyone interested in policing in general, and the empathy required to be a successful officer. Not only that, but John Sutherland expertly puts across the emotional side of what is generally depicted as a tough-love responsibility. There is a general ignorance to the fact that the very people protecting us are also vulnerable members of the public themselves, who have families, who eat out with friends on the weekend, who look forward to everything anyone else does.

It’s inspiring and insightful, emotional and hard wearing but above all it was a great story which felt very real from start to finish.