Review: Cry Myself To Sleep by Joe Peters
The first 15 pages of Cry Myself to Sleep serve as a summary of the first book Cry Silent Tears. The story continues as the author relates his move to London, southern England and finally Wales.
Sadly, in echoes of Mark Johnson’s Wasted, Peters had to learn to survive when homeless and face more tragedy alongside violent brushes with both sides of the law and a life-threatening experience to follow up his childhood abuse.
Resembling The Nipper by Charlie Mitchell, the overseas getaway and the meeting of his wife has been shoe-horned in at the end. There’s also some limited resolution relating to events from the first book, but it’s good that overall Cry Myself To Sleep is more about the next stage in Joe’s life. Various social agencies of London dealing with the homeless and the probation system in general did more to help the author at the time than social services in his childhood, as Peters regains his fragile health and makes a new life after several false starts.
It’s a shame the publishers went straight for broke with a paperback launch. Many further details had to be cut to keep its average length so hopefully the publishers will be satisfied enough with the sales of this one to release an expanded second edition, or a third book to make the story completely rounded.
In terms of the UK launch around the first long weekend in May, the stock situation has now been resolved and the book is now widely available at retail as well as online.
The author’s improved writing makes “Sleep†feel shorter than the previous book’s hardback edition, despite being of a similar length. If you read the first then it’s a natural step to progress to reading what happened next. As before, check the author’s site for more information.
– CBG
