John Robins and Elis James writing book about mental health
- John Robins and Elis James are writing a book about dealing with heavy setbacks
- How Do You Cope? Notes on Strength, Resilience and Finding Ourselves is set for February 2023
- A tie in with their podcast, Robins confirms "It will feature reflections on the conversations we've had"
John Robins and Elis James are writing their second book, British Comedy Guide can exclusively reveal.
How Do You Cope? Notes on Strength, Resilience and Finding Ourselves, is set to be published on 2nd February 2023 by BBC Books, and is based on their Radio 5 Live podcast of the same name, which begins its third series today with an interview with the Reverend Richard Coles.
Other guests on the new series, in which guests recall the struggles they've had with their mental health and the strategies they've used to cope, include Sex Education star George Robinson, Queen guitarist Brian May, television presenter Gail Porter and cricketer Azeem Rafiq, who hit the headlines last year with his exposure of racism at his former club Yorkshire.
"We're still in the process of working out how to tackle [the book]" Robins told BCG in an interview published today. "But it will feature reflections on the conversations we've had [on the show]."
Of the new series, he said: "The first episode is the Reverend Richard Coles and that was just a phenomenal conversation. His book, The Madness of Grief, is just one of the best books I've ever read, about losing his partner and living with his partner's alcoholism. Wonderful, I could have just spoken to him forever. I wish he was my local vicar."
Previous guests on the show include Paul Sinha, Sally Phillips, Josie Long and The Last Leg's Alex Brooker.
How Do You Cope? won UK Podcast Of The Year at the 2021 Broadcasting Guild Awards, while Robins and James' regular Radio 5 Live show won the Gold Award for Funniest Show at the Aria Awards in 2020
The pair previously wrote the 2018 book The Holy Vible: The Book The Bible Could Have Been, "a complete guide to the hilariously niche and wonderfully obscure world of commercial digital indie radio's most-unproducible hammer legends."
Elsewhere in the interview, ahead of their recording a live show at The Podcast Show 2022 Live, which also features the My Dad Wrote A Porno team in conversation with journalist Miranda Sawyer, Robins spoke about the reaction he received to a recent message he posted for the mental health charity Mind's Time To Talk Day campaign.
And he reflected on sharing painful aspects of his personal life on air.
"It's impossible not to talk about big things in your private life when it forms a part of your conversation, as it does with us" he said. "It would be impossible to sit in a studio with Elis for 10 years and not mention it. That doesn't mean it's not difficult. I'd rather not have to at certain junctures. But what can you do?"
Read the interview with John Robins
How Do You Cope? is available to pre-order now.
Elis James & John Robins - How Do You Cope?
Based on the hit BBC podcast, Elis James and John Robins share memorable stories, struggles and strategies around mental health, all to answer the question - 'How Do You Cope?'.
The show must go on. What does it mean to worry? How can we deal with loss? When adversity strikes, how do we cope? In their hit BBC podcast, Elis James and John Robins have delved deep into their own and others' personal experiences to explore a diverse range of mental health issues, from anxiety and grief to illness, identity and exclusion. Drawing on these rich conversations, along with the help of team of mental health experts, How Do You Cope? is a unique exploration of how we overcome the everyday struggles, as well as the more significant challenges, in our lives.
Including expert advice and practical tips from psychologists and counsellors, How Do You Cope? is an inspiring journey through the front lines of mental health.
First published: Thursday 1st May 2025
- Publisher: BBC Books
- Pages: 352
- Catalogue: 9781785947674
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