The Stranger on the Bridge

My Journey from Suicidal Despair to Hope

By: Jonny Benjamin, H.R.H. The Duke of Cambridge, Britt Pflüger

Narrated by: Britt Pflüger, Jonny Benjamin, Neil Laybourn

'In my world, the word inspirational gets bandied around a lot, but Jonny Benjamin is truly deserving of that adjective.' – HRH The Duke of Cambridge

'Jonny Benjamin is the most inspirational man I know. His book shows us how remarkable the human spirit is.' Bryony Gordon, bestselling author of Mad Girl

In 2008, twenty-year-old Jonny Benjamin stood on Waterloo Bridge, about to jump. A stranger saw his distress and stopped to talk with him – a decision that saved Jonny's life.

Fast forward to 2014 and Jonny, together with Rethink Mental Illness launch a campaign with a short video clip so that Jonny could finally thank that stranger who put him on the path to recovery. More than 319 million people around the world followed the search. ITV's breakfast shows picked up the story until the stranger, whose name is Neil Laybourn, was found and – in an emotional and touching moment – the pair re-united and have remained firm friends ever since.

The Stranger on the Bridge is a memoir of the journey Jonny made both personally, and publicly to not only find the person who saved his life, but also to explore how he got to the bridge in the first place and how he continues to manage his diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. Using extracts from diaries Jonny has been writing from the age of thirteen, this book is a deeply personal memoir with a unique insight on mental health.

Jonny was recognised for his work as an influential activist changing the culture around mental health, when he was awarded an MBE in 2017. He and Neil now work full-time together visiting schools, hospitals, prisons and workplaces to help end the stigma by talking about mental health and suicide prevention. The pair ran the London Marathon together in 2017 in aid of HeadsTogether. Following the global campaign to find the stranger, in 2015 Channel 4 made a documentary of Jonny's search which has now been shown around the world.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©Jonny Benjamin 2018 (P)2018 Macmillan Digital Audio

Critic reviews

This moving memoir, which includes a contribution from his rescuer, Neil Laybourn, is a hugely inspiring account of how Benjamin became an activist and mental-health campaigner. (Sunday Express)

Brave and honest and interesting (Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of Manual for Heartache and The Last Act of Love)

Of the many books on personal experience The Stranger on the Bridge stands out in its entirely holistic approach. The reader is exposed to all angles of a complex journey - through good as much as through bad in a beautifully genuine and raw style. This book will be added to my suggested reading list to everybody interested in the field. (Adrian Garcia, The Black Dog Campaign, SANE)

You gain a unique understanding of someone living with mental illness (OK Magazine)

A personal appeal against the cultural entrenchment of the stigma that still surrounds male mental health. (Men’s Health)

His work and book shows that continuing to talk about mental illness and extending that opportunity to others, really can make the biggest difference. (Happiful)

A moving memoir looking back over these incredible achievements, as well as the many challenges that led Jonny to contemplate taking his own life. (Jewish News)

Important and life-affirming memoir. (The Bookseller)

One of the most important depictions of what it’s like to live with a mental health problem that I’ve ever read. I went away feeling empowered and reassured that I wasn’t alone. (Bryony Acketts, Mind Media)

Very personal story on mental health and recovery

It's a very touching and moving personal story about Jonny Benjamin's struggle with his mental illness and his road to recovery. I got this book after hearing Jonny's and Neil's story at a conference. I listened to this book while running and many times I found myself running and crying or close to tears. The reason for this is that Jonny's account of his journey is very open, very sincere and impressively honest. It resonated a lot with my personal experiences. As a practising psychologist, I learned from this lived experience of struggle with mental health difficulties things I could never learn from textbooks and lectures. I also find it very inspiring and hopeful – I want to remind myself about Jonny's story when I deal with situations that seem hopeless and everyone involved starts to feel helpless. As a parent, if found it very shocking in a sense that we might not know what kind of struggles might be torturing our kids, even if try to be caring and supportive parents. Therefore it seems so important that Jonny is sharing his personal story and is doing so much to remove the stigma surrounding mental health. As this stigma makes us hide or ignore our struggles when in fact it would be better for all of us if we were more open about them. Thank you!

An exciting true story from beginning to end

Amazing how genuine the story is, how straight to the point delicate themes are discussed. Jonny shows an enormous capacity to go beyond his difficult and challenging life and transform it into an opportunity to help others. He brings up mental health into discussion in a natural and safe environment with dignity and respect.