It is perhaps unusual for a husband-and-wife team to write back-to-back books, more so to then find themselves in the limelight at a range of events late into normal retirement. But this is exactly what has happened to Waterside authors Sue and Bob Johnson, whose works The Prison Psychiatrist’s Wife and Friendless Childhoods Explain War have seen them on the conference circuit and giving talks in bookshops and other meeting places.
Sue for her heart-rending story of the role she played supporting Bob through his years as a prison psychiatrist at Parkhurst Prison during one of the most turbulent times in criminal justice history – when his ground-breaking work ‘connecting’ with some of the UK’s most dangerous offenders was disrupted by Government.
‘Dr Bob’ himself for his challenging account showing comparable threads concerning friendless childhoods in both serial killers and warmongering politicians of the kind we currently see every day in the news.
These photos were taken towards the end of 2024 by a doctoral student at one of several sessions at Greater Manchester University attended by those enrolled on psychiatry-related master degrees and doctorate research programmes.
Concerning world events, Bob has commented, ‘We are encountering saner minds who recognise the dreadful impacts of awful childhoods,’ and was encouraged by the reception his arguments attracted at another, recent conference he spoke at in Liverpool.
Both Sue and Bob have been gratified by the way young people have responded to her stories and Bob’s ideas – so much so that Sue is busy already working on her follow-up manuscript based around the question she has been asked most (working title) What Happened Next?
