Blue: A Memoir
Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2017
Synopsis
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.
Praise for “Blue: A Memoir”
This courageous and finely written book is a timely invitation to think more deeply about what we ask of our police
Jane Shilling DAILY MAIL
A stark account of a talented police officer’s breakdown . . . This is a startlingly honest book and the final two chapters are heartbreaking
Richard Morrison THE TIMES)
I read BLUE more or less in one sitting. I thought it was wonderful – very powerful, deeply moving and utterly honest
Henry Marsh, author of DO NO HARM
Admirably honest and movingly human . . . Sutherland asks us to look behind the faceless blue and see the individual people
SPECTATOR
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
THE i Newspaper
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
TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
John Sutherland lays out the human cost of working as a police officer in simple, devastating terms
HUFFINGTON POST
John’s kindness, warmth and humanity shine through. I found Blue deeply moving.
Dr Tim Cantopher, author of The Curse of the Strong
