I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes With Death by Maggie O'Farrell

I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes With Death

by Maggie O'Farrell

THE SUNDAY TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLER, AND BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, GUARDIAN, IRISH TIMES, OBSERVER, RED and THE TELEGRAPH.

Longlisted for The Wellcome Book Prize

I AM, I AM, I AM is a memoir with a difference - the unputdownable story of an extraordinary woman's life in near-death experiences. Insightful, inspirational, intelligent, it is a book to be read at a sitting, a story you finish newly conscious of life's fragility, determined to make every heartbeat count.

A childhood illness she was not expected to survive. A teenage yearning to escape that nearly ended in disaster. A terrifying encounter on a remote path. A mismanaged labour in an understaffed hospital. Shocking, electric, unforgettable, this is the extraordinary memoir from Costa Novel-Award winner and Sunday Times bestselling author Maggie O'Farrell. It is a book to make you question yourself. What would you do if your life was in danger, and what would you stand to lose?

I AM, I AM, I AM will speak to readers who loved Cheryl Strayed's WILD or Max Porter's GRIEF IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS.

Reviewed by luddite on

4 of 5 stars

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This book is a poignant, intimate reflection on living and dying. The writing is excellent, visceral, immersive, and deeply personal. I know memoirs are supposed to be personal - and I'll admit I haven't read too many - but this one took on a greater level of intimacy because of the central theme. The jumps in recollection within each story worked well in my book; it's how memories and our post-hoc analysis of them work. Some chapters drag, and it took me a while to finish the book, but the good chapters are worth it.

A shout-out to the writing: Fierce and personal, poignant in bits, and just so well written. The raw fear in the opening sequence of 'Neck', the deep loss in 'Baby & Bloodstream', the sheer helplessness in 'Cerebellum', the fierce protectiveness in 'Daughter' -- writing that will stay with me, for style and substance.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 8 January, 2019: Finished reading
  • 8 January, 2019: Reviewed