Bishop Fleming's second memoir goes to SPCK

SPCK has acquired drug dealer-turned bishop Mick Fleming’s new book, Walk in My Shoes: Stories of Miraculous Transformation.

Publisher Alison Barr acquired world rights directly from the author, and the book will be published on the 16th May 2024.

Walk in My Shoes is the sequel to Fleming’s autobiography Blown Away: From Drug Dealer to Life Bringer, which was published by SPCK in September 2022. Fleming’s life story is also due to be made into a TV series called “The Pastor”.

SPCK said: “A victim of brutal sexual assault as a child, Fleming fell into crime before one day encountering God and having his life utterly transformed. In Blown Away, Fleming recounts his startling journey from life as a dangerous drug dealer and criminal, to the founder of a charity saving the UK’s poorest.

“In Walk in My Shoes, Fleming – who was ordained as a bishop in 2022 – vividly relates stories of reconciliation, forgiveness and healing in the lives of people we first meet in Blown Away.

“Fleming had no idea that so many of the people he encountered in his deeply troubled past would also be miraculously touched by the grace of God – several through his own work. From fellow patients on psychiatric wards and gangster mates, to once-hated policemen and formerly estranged family members, we hear astonishing tales of struggle, recovery from mental illness and addiction, and hope.”

The book is billed as “painful, sad, and confessional as many of the stories are in Walk In My Shoes”, through it Fleming “builds a message of hope through each chapter, and has designed the book as a companion for those who are suffering, those in recovery, and those trying to help them”.

Fleming said: “After writing Blown Away, I knew I wanted to expand on some of the extraordinary stories of the people I’ve come across in my journey.

“Walk In My Shoes is an invitation for every human being to step out of their own circumstances, and into the lives of people who are enduring the most unimaginable things, while living in the same country, and under the same government as themselves.

“Every day, working in the poorest, most deprived areas of the UK, I discover anew just how ordinary the presence of the supernatural is, as the miraculous power of God breaks through into places where you could never have imagined beauty or transformation.”

Barr says: “Working with Mick has been transformative. As a publisher committed to sharing innovative Christian thinking, we’re happy Blown Away has touched people from many different backgrounds, with a French edition in print and a German and other language editions forthcoming. Walk In My Shoes – simply told, utterly devastating and deeply hopeful – draws us all into a remarkable and truly healing ministry.”