Michael Prentice was born in 1961 in the heart of the Devonshire countryside. As a young man he attended the Tiverton Grammar School at the end of which he spent a year in the USA on a cultural exchange program. It was here that he first developed his taste for writing – producing regular articles for his local High School Journal.
Returning to England the following year he took up a place at Warwick University gaining an Honours Degree in Social Sciences in 1983. After this he gave up his place on a Master’s Degree to take up a job in restaurant management in London. Two years later he entered into the Police Service serving almost eight years before getting injured as is described in the book, prompting early retirement.
Michael returned to his native Devon which he loves so much in 1995 and settled down with his wife and had three children. He has had many articles published in newspapers, periodicals and poetry but Joe Bloggs Becomes A Christian was his first book. His second book entitled Staring Death in the Face which is about him being extremely close to losing his daughter through anorexia has come out at the same time as this book, published also by Austin Macauley Publishers.
This is a real-life account of a family dealing with anorexia of one of its own. Sarah nearly died. She could have died at any time as her body had begun to shut down. The local medical services said that they had never come across anyone with such a low body mass index (weight) as hers. Sarah was heard screaming out as her body began to close down at death’s door. But by the grace of God, she miraculously survived. The events are chronicled by the author, Sarah’s father; plus there is a very poignant additional contribution portrayal through the eyes of her sister Olivia too — together these sections paint the picture of what this family had to endure and complement each other. This is a book which I am sure you will find hard to put down and will educate you not only as far as the illness of anorexia is concerned but also in seeing how it can be transcended.
“This is a fascinating little book which I am glad to commend. The author is an intelligent and able man. It is an autobiographical account of Michael’s life and tells of his time as a police officer in London facing a number of traumatic experiences, including attacks on his life. These, in turn, lead to a period of illness which brought him back to Devon where he became a devoted Christian.
But the story does not end there; it continues with a description of how Michael returned to London in order to ‘bury the ghosts from his past’; of how he was helped to overcome all his past difficulties … and much more.
I imagine that some of those who read this book will identify with one or other of Michael’s experiences and find help in seeing how he came through them. I particularly enjoyed reading about the ‘93 pence Bible’. This is just one of the adventures recounted here which formed part of Michael’s unusual and exciting spiritual pilgrimage. This is a book which you will find enjoyable and encouraging. It is a book to buy and a book to give.”
Revd. Cyril Tennant
St. Philip and St. James Church, Ilfracombe, Devon
Come join me as I take you on a journey through the creation of my two books, Joe Bloggs Becomes a Christian and Staring Death in the Face, and the ideas that fueled them in this video.
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