What people say about the Speccy Breakdown book

"I found this book moving, funny, and honest in a way that has the power to liberate others." — Oliver Burkeman, Sunday Times bestselling author of Four Thousand Weeks

"What a tough, shining, fiercely charming thing you’ve made. It reminded me so much of Michael Rosen’s Sad Book. It’s oddly lovely to see how a wide-ranging, talented mind like yours patiently handles this material, and begins to make something beautiful. I’m deeply sorry you went through what you did, but equally grateful you found the courage and generosity to share. It will help many people directly, as well as part of a matrix of honesty around mental health experiences that holds us all." — Rhik Samadder, author of I Never Said I Loved You

"I read it in one sitting. Warm, insightful, beautiful and even amusing." — Tim Lott, author of The Scent of Dried Roses

"It’s wonderful. Funny, truthful, heartbreaking and deadly serious all at the same time and the drawings are just delicious. Deserves a wide audience." — Julie Myerson, author of Home and The Lost Child

"I am so thrilled to receive my beautiful first edition book! It really is a work of art as well as an incredible insight into your experiences. An absolute privilege to be part of this project." — Joanne Gubbay, on LinkedIn

"Heartbreaking and life-affirming: you did a great job & should be really proud of this. So many good reasons to read it. And the pictures are GREAT." — Harriet Griffey, author of From Burnout to Balance

"I just read your book, and I'm blown away. It's... I don't really know what to say. Moving and funny and clever and open and true. I love your pictorial style, the colours, the faces, the tenderness. And I had no idea that you loved yoga! Congratulations, I would be amazed if this wasn't a huge success, I'm sure it will be, and I'm very excited for you." — A Reader, via voice message

"I love the book. You capture so much so economically and elegantly. It is moving, will be illuminating for many and recognisable to many others, from their own experience." — A Reader, via email

"A most moving, heartfelt, and honest account. It feels, to me, as important as "Man's Search for Meaning", for that could be the alternative title. This book will touch the lives of others. Hopefully many." — Ian Reid, counsellor and coach

"It's wonderful. I read it at one sitting. So interesting, and moving. Beautifully laid out, great illustrations - a triumph!" — Liz Woodcraft, author of A Sense of Occasion

"A deeply kind document of a terrible time - a time of great loss but a time of self-discovery too, and of hope, ultimately. I can actually imagine this book might save someone’s life. Less dramatically, it sends even the untroubled-in-mind reader the urgent message that if the worst happens and a loved one starts to fall completely apart, then there is every reason to think they can be caught and held until the different people they are can be drawn back together." — Reader M

"Incredibly moving, so brave and such an important book. It is full of charm - our hearts went out immediately. The text and illustrations are perfect for helping us understand. It should be bought for everyone suffering, to feel not alone and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. It would be so helpful for the family and friends of their loved ones too - so very sadly, one doesn’t always realise that someone is suffering." — Reader P

"I was so moved and emotional after reading Speccy Man Has a Breakdown. It’s difficult to convey how important this book is." — Reader C, via email

"I was incredibly moved. I felt like I was peering into my own mind. Can't wait to share with my loved ones." — Reader E, via direct message

"I love my copy. I’ve read many textbooks about depression - clinical analysis, patient case studies - but this is a vivid and painfully lived experience that the reader can actually relate to, and that is wonderful. It captures that depth of hopelessness and despair but also manages to keep some humour and shreds of hope. Above all, it lets the reader know it’s ok to feel that dread, that blackness and that shame - not in a clinical way but in a so very, very human and relatable way, both visually and in the written word. It’s an outstanding achievement, and I truly think it should be part of any university curriculum on mental health. It’s a whole new way to explain depression, and very effective. " — Reader C

"Wonderful, honest, eloquent, little-but-vast. A book about things we all need to talk about more and find hardest to say when we need to most. There is no doubt in my mind someone you know needs this book, and you do too." — Rachel Knightley

"Your book is a gift; the conversations it's helped me to have with my wife and two of my closest friends would have been inconceivable a few weeks ago. My wife has asked a lot about triggers and scaffolding. She's amazing. She wants to understand and to help. The conversation with my closest friends... we recognised that we'd always used euphemisms to talk around how we were feeling. Your book has brought an end to that nonsense. You are touching people's lives, and encouraging them to act when doing something seemed to be an impossibly hard step. Extraordinary." — Reader P

"The drawings speak a thousand words. Describing the desperate dark times and how you slowly rebuilt yourself is life-affirming, gives hope, and will help others in their struggles." — Reader S, via email

"Thank you JP. It's the sort of book you want everyone to read - delightful, unique, moving and funny. You really are extraordinary." — Toby York, on LinkedIn

"What a beautiful, tender book." — A Reader, via SMS

"Your beautifully written, drawn and produced book is a real pleasure - I love it. Even the erratum note is elegant. It describes difficult things with a lightness of touch that makes them more bearable to think about, given how little we talk about mental illness. And it gives a real sense of how we can recover from hard times, without over-simplifying anything. I am very pleased, too, with my limited edition print, which I will frame and put on my wall." — Milly Jenkins, writer and child psychotherapist

"Thrilled to take delivery of this graphic memoir by John-Paul Flintoff. It's raw, charming and sweetly drawn. For anyone who has or has had depression, or has watched someone they love suffer, this is a must-read. Highly recommend." — Liza Campbell, artist and author of Title Deeds

"Touching, honest, vulnerable and beautifully presented." — Steve Chapman, artist and author of Can Scorpions Smoke?

"So powerful, raw and honest. It brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for publishing it." — Reader W, via WhatsApp

"I enjoyed your book so much - you showed me your heart in such an open and generous way, reminding me of children’s books. The multi-layered packaging and the mix of messages, from the more formal to the personal, was a treat. Your book was so honest and your drawings are so beautiful. The layout of each spread was just gorgeous. I felt your hell. It reminded me of Babar. Congratulations on such a lovely and open book - I really hope you can find a way to reach more than 250 people, because so many people would benefit from it." — Nina Grunfeld, author of Picture This, and other books

"I read the book from start to finish over my breakfast. I really love it. I love how delicately it describes how you can be lifted from a state of shame and feeling worthless. My most immediate thought was I really, really love the pictures. I was fascinated by why they were so charming, and noticed the scruffy simple eloquence of them - the telling gestures, the hand reaching for a knee, the beautiful selection of details (not too many, just enough), the brilliant metaphors: what a panic attack feels like, and an anger cloud. Then it occurred to me that the pictures achieve what the writing does - a brilliance of concision and directness. I cried at the end." — Andrew Clover, author of Learn Love in a Week

"Brilliant! I’m already a third of the way through but don’t want to go too fast, so have stopped. I love what I’ve seen and read so far - the layout, the illustrations, the text, the message. You are a very clever boy and I’m so proud of you! I’m looking forward to continuing, although I already don’t want it to end. Congratulations." — "Miss" (the author’s art teacher at secondary school​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​)