Surviving Me - Book Review

Tom has decided he doesn't want to live. Adam wishes he had a choice. Tom's lost his job and now he's been labelled 'spermless'. He doesn't exactly feel like a modern man, although his double life helps. Yet when his secret identity threatens to unravel, he starts to lose the plot and comes perilously close to the edge.

All the while Adam has his own duplicity, albeit for very different reasons, reasons which will blow the family's future out of the water. If they can't be honest with themselves, and everyone else, then things are going to get a whole lot more complicated.

This is a new book by Jo Johnson - read the review below by J John.

Review:

"One of my closest friends committed suicide. So the arrival of this novel, 'Surviving Me' by Jo Johnson, was particularly timely. Jo is a Christian psychologist and this, her first work of fiction, focuses on a man whose life spirals downwards to the point where ‘ending it all’ is imminent. While you may already have decided that this is not a book for you, let me give you two reasons for reading it. 

"First, it is a good book. Jo writes extremely well and brings a high degree of psychological insight and authenticity to her characters and situations. The individuals in the book are realistic, their failings clearly identifiable with, and her skilfully plotted story pulls the reader along a compelling and long journey through darkness and out into light. Although Christian elements are woven into the book, they stay largely in the background and the focus is ultimately more on the psychological than the spiritual. 

"Second, this is not just a good book, it’s also a valuable book. It’s an alarming fact that the top killer of men between the ages of 30 and 50 in UK is suicide and, as 'Surviving Me' describes without preaching, because men can easily wear masks to hide their pain, the warning signs can often lie undetected by even close family members and friends. The lesson of the book is that those who are close to men, whether in the context of family or work, ought to be more sensitive to those subtle signs that may indicate a hidden despair.

"Some books change lives: this might save them."

J.John

Reverend Canon

About Jo Johnson

I’m a Christian psychologist from Sussex, UK. I’ve written a novel called Surviving Me. It’s about male minds and what happens when we listen too hard to the negative thoughts that our flawed minds throw at us. It contains a gospel message but weaves it into what is being marketed as a secular novel. It doesn’t contain a single swear word, blasphemy or any explicit sexual or violent scenes. So far the advanced copies have been well reviewed by both Christians and non. 

Follow this link to find out more or purchase the book on Amazon: amazon.co.uk/Surviving-Me-Jo-Johnson/dp/1789650615

Here is a link to the advanced reviews: goodreads.com/en/book/show/47131637-surviving-me