'With bravery and humour, Daukes uncovers an origin story that would have crushed many. Utterly compelling.' John Niven

'Johnny Daukes' childhood was first rendered confusing by religion, and then destroyed by sexual abuse, he went on to both find himself through music and, in the process, set himself free. This is often a brutal story, but it's one full of hope and resilience, and it oozes the rackety gallows humour of a true maverick.' Nick Duerden

'It takes an exceptional storyteller to make your sides ache and your heart break from one moment to the next, but Johnny Daukes has both the flair and the story to do just that. An extraordinary debut.' Pete Paphides

'What a unique book Johnny Daukes' Shadowman is. On the surface it's memoir but at its heart it's a book that wrestles with big questions about pain, art, memory and love.' Mat Osman

Shadowman tells the story of a young man corrupted by sexual abuse and a subsequent career in music, comedy and film that amounted to an unconscious recording and processing of that early trauma. Daukes' path - playing in bands, writing and performing radio and TV comedy and refusing to be defined by the events of his youth - makes for a compelling and sometimes even hilarious story of an unconventional life.

Shadowman becomes more complex and outrageous with every chapter: the malign presence in the family of the Catholic sect Opus Dei: the abuser becoming part of the family through marriage: the terrible revelations as further victims come to light. But all the time Johnny Daukes walks a fine line between heartbreak and humour.

With frequent reference to Daukes' lyrics, sketches and scripts, all produced with no awareness of their true significance, Shadowman is a work of personal archaeology that takes the reader on an extraordinary and almost unbelievable voyage to - finally - a place of peace and redemption.

'Johnny Daukes' compelling memoir navigates both darkness and exhilaration with intensity and painful candour but also joy and wit. This is a book that is often melancholy but never mawkish and at its heart is an affirming appetite for life'. Stuart Maconie

'Shadowman is an emotional and powerful read, deeply honest and very personal, and at times made bearable only by Johnny Daukes' ability to find comedy in horrific circumstances. An astonishing piece of work.' David Quantick

'An extraordinary and liberating read, Shadowman is a memoir that laces brutality with hilarity, trivia with profundity and showbiz excess with lacerating self-analysis. Johnny Daukes has gifted us with what is, ultimately, a reminder of what it means to choose to live.' Sarah Dempster

'One thing is clear: Johnny Daukes can really tell a story. At times heart-breaking and at others really funny, it's compelling, original and powerful. I was willing Johnny along, from suburban start to emotional end.' Jenny Landreth