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This, My Second Life has been selected as one of The Telegraph’s summer reading picks. The full piece is here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/books-summer-reading-list-fiction-novels-history-2026/#fiction
This, my second life selected as one of the best debut novels of the year so far. ‘This is a work of “piercing intensity”.’ Dazzling new books from the literary world’s rising stars.
Reviews and media
Reviews
Click on the links to read the full reviews (some reviews are behind paywalls.)
'An astonishing debut of recovery… The hypnotically seductive rhythms of days filled with only the most immediate things – the smell of a library or the colours of the sea, the “milky winter sun” or the exquisite savour of plain food – are layered to achieve a piercing intensity, the world made new. ’ The Guardian
A hypnotic read, gentle, generous and compelling’ Mail on Sunday
‘A beautifully written, authentic and deeply moving portrait of adversity, care and hope’ Daily Mail
‘Charnley has created his own world in this impressive debut, and it possesses its own unique magic’ The Telegraph
‘simply rewarding’ Times Literary Supplement
‘A gorgeous, lush read.’ The Connaght Telegraph
‘This profoundly affecting, memorable novel would be an impressive debut if it was written by anyone, but that it is written by someone enduring the effects of a brain injury, who was clinically dead for forty minutes just five years ago, makes every page feel almost miraculous.’ The Manchester Review
‘[an] elegant, infinitely touching debut’ Saga Magazine
[It] succeeds as a work of art” The week
Media
Essay in The Guardian
Radio and podcast interviews and other broadcast pieces
BBC Radio 4: Front Row - Michael Sheen, Laurel & Hardy, writer Patrick Charnley - BBC Sounds
BBC Sounds: Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett - I Was Dead for 40 Minutes with Patrick Charnley
Patrick Charnley: From Cardiac Arrest Survivor to Published Author - Sudden Cardiac Arrest UK
Julian Barnes: Departure(s) + Cassie Stroud: Iluka + Patrick Charnley: This, My Second Life (reviewers: Tony Birch & Beejay Silcox) - Australian Broadcasting Corporation, The Bookshelf
Print interviews
The Times: ‘I was dead for 40 minutes’: How my brain injury made me a writer
The Guardian: The rise of the literary nepo baby? The children of famous novelists on following in their parents’ footsteps