I joined the police service in 1992 and served as an officer for more than 25 years. I loved my job with every single fibre of my being: it was my duty and my joy. But, in 2013, I suffered a massive nervous breakdown – caused in significant part by the pressures and strains of work – and it led to my eventual medical retirement from policing.

I have learned any number of powerful lessons since the early days of my illness, but perhaps the most significant of them is this: that it would be impossible to do the job of a police officer for any length of time and to remain untouched – unaffected – by the things you see and the things you do. The painful privilege of policing is to venture repeatedly into life's hurting places – at the scenes of crimes and car crashes and every other kind of catastrophe – and to find yourself face-to-face with every possible kind of human trauma and suffering. Every police officer has stories to tell of people and places they will never forget.

But, for the overwhelming majority of my career, no one in policing was talking about those things – about the entirely unavoidable physical, emotional and psychological consequences of a life lived in blue. It was just the job, and we all got on with it.

Fortunately, times are changing. We are beginning to have a much more open and compassionate conversation about mental health in policing. We are starting to develop a much better understanding of the endlessly demanding realities of the job and their impact on the women and men who serve.

Dr Jess Miller understands the policing mind better than anyone else I know. In this timely and important book, she explains how the brain functions and, in particular, how it is impacted by the unique rigours of police work. Most importantly, she suggests a series of practical tools and techniques to help officers improve their mental resilience and wellbeing.

It is no overstatement to suggest that it might just be a book that saves lives.