I Am, I Am, I Am By Maggie O'farrell

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Comments

Neck

20170821

A memoir with a difference, subtitled: 'Seventeen Brushes With Death'.

Award-winning novelist Maggie O'Farrell tells her life through a series of vignettes of her near-death experiences -- including a childhood illness she was not expected to survive; a terrifying encounter on a remote mountain path; a mismanaged labour in an understaffed hospital.

'I've asked myself, when she has been very ill, how do you carry on when death is a daily possibility?'

Read by Hattie Morahan

Maggie O'Farrell's novels include 'After You'd Gone', 'My Lover's Lover', 'The Distance Between Us', which won a Somerset Maugham Award, 'The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox', 'The Hand That First Held Mine', which won the 2010 Costa Novel Award, 'Instructions for the Heatwave', which was shortlisted for the 2013 Costa Novel Award, and 'This Must Be The Place'.

Abridged and produced by Kirsteen Cameron

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2017.

Novelist Maggie O'Farrell's memoir, told through a series of near-death experiences.

Cerebellum

20170822

Maggie O'Farrell recalls the moment at which, aged eight, she woke up to find the world 'looked completely different'.

She'd contracted encephalitis, an illness that continues to have an impact upon her life.

Maggie O'Farrell's startling memoir, in which the bestselling author recounts her life through a series of near-death experiences.

Read by Hattie Morahan.

'I've asked myself, when she has been very ill, how do you carry on when death is a daily possibility?'

Abridged and produced by Kirsteen Cameron

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2017.

Author Maggie O'Farrell's account of falling seriously ill with encephalitis aged eight.

Novelist Maggie O'Farrell's memoir, told through a series of near-death experiences.

Abdomen

20170823

Maggie O'Farrell remembers the difficult birth of her first son and the impact that a stranger's compassionate gesture had on her while doctors worked hard to save her life in the operating theatre.

Startling memoir, in which the bestselling author recounts her life through a series of near-death experiences.

Read by Hattie Morahan.

'I've asked myself, when she has been very ill, how do you carry on when death is a daily possibility?'

Abridged and produced by Kirsteen Cameron

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2017.

Complications during labour leave O'Farrell close to death in the operating theatre.

Novelist Maggie O'Farrell's memoir, told through a series of near-death experiences.

Lungs

20170824

Hattie Morahan reads Maggie O'Farrell's startling memoir, in which the bestselling author recounts her life through a series of near-death experiences.

The book started out as a private project, a way for O'Farrell to help her young daughter who suffers from a serious immunology disorder, including severe eczema and allergies that can cause anaphylactic shock: 'I've asked myself, when she has been very ill, how do you carry on when death is a daily possibility?

In this episode, O'Farrell and her young son come close to drowning while swimming off the coast of East Africa.

Reader: Hattie Morahan

Writer: Maggie O'Farrell

Abridger: Kirsteen Cameron

Producer: Kirsteen Cameron

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2017.

O'Farrell and her son get into difficulties while swimming off the coast of East Africa.

Novelist Maggie O'Farrell's memoir, told through a series of near-death experiences.

Daughter

20170825

Maggie O'Farrell's startling memoir, in which the bestselling author recounts her life through a series of near-death experiences.

The book started out as a private project, a way for O'Farrell to help her young daughter who suffers from a serious immunology disorder, including severe eczema and allergies that can cause her anaphylactic shock: 'I've asked myself, when she has been very ill, how do you carry on when death is a daily possibility?

In this final episode, O'Farrell describes the challenges she and her family face trying to give her daughter as normal life a life as possible.

Reader: Hattie Morahan

Writer: Maggie O'Farrell

Abridger: Kirsteen Cameron

Producer: Kirsteen Cameron

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2017.

Maggie O'Farrell's moving account of coping with her daughter's immunology disorder.

Novelist Maggie O'Farrell's memoir, told through a series of near-death experiences.

Episodes

Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Comments
01	Neck	20170821	A memoir with a difference, subtitled: 'Seventeen Brushes With Death'. Award-winning novelist Maggie O'Farrell tells her life through a series of vignettes of her near-death experiences -- including a childhood illness she was not expected to survive; a terrifying encounter on a remote mountain path; a mismanaged labour in an understaffed hospital. The book started out as a private project, a way for O'Farrell to help her young daughter who suffers from a serious immunology disorder, including severe eczema and allergies that can cause anaphylactic shock: 'I've asked myself, when she has been very ill, how do you carry on when death is a daily possibility?' Read by Hattie Morahan Maggie O'Farrell's novels include 'After You'd Gone', 'My Lover's Lover', 'The Distance Between Us', which won a Somerset Maugham Award, 'The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox', 'The Hand That First Held Mine', which won the 2010 Costa Novel Award, 'Instructions for the Heatwave', which was shortlisted for the 2013 Costa Novel Award, and 'This Must Be The Place'. Abridged and produced by Kirsteen Cameron First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2017. Novelist Maggie O'Farrell's memoir, told through a series of near-death experiences.
02	Cerebellum	20170822	Maggie O'Farrell recalls the moment at which, aged eight, she woke up to find the world 'looked completely different'. She'd contracted encephalitis, an illness that continues to have an impact upon her life. Maggie O'Farrell's startling memoir, in which the bestselling author recounts her life through a series of near-death experiences. Read by Hattie Morahan. The book started out as a private project, a way for O'Farrell to help her young daughter who suffers from a serious immunology disorder, including severe eczema and allergies that can cause anaphylactic shock: 'I've asked myself, when she has been very ill, how do you carry on when death is a daily possibility?' Abridged and produced by Kirsteen Cameron First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2017. Author Maggie O'Farrell's account of falling seriously ill with encephalitis aged eight. Novelist Maggie O'Farrell's memoir, told through a series of near-death experiences.
03	Abdomen	20170823	Maggie O'Farrell remembers the difficult birth of her first son and the impact that a stranger's compassionate gesture had on her while doctors worked hard to save her life in the operating theatre. Startling memoir, in which the bestselling author recounts her life through a series of near-death experiences. Read by Hattie Morahan. The book started out as a private project, a way for O'Farrell to help her young daughter who suffers from a serious immunology disorder, including severe eczema and allergies that can cause anaphylactic shock: 'I've asked myself, when she has been very ill, how do you carry on when death is a daily possibility?' Abridged and produced by Kirsteen Cameron First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2017. Complications during labour leave O'Farrell close to death in the operating theatre. Novelist Maggie O'Farrell's memoir, told through a series of near-death experiences.
04	Lungs	20170824	Hattie Morahan reads Maggie O'Farrell's startling memoir, in which the bestselling author recounts her life through a series of near-death experiences. The book started out as a private project, a way for O'Farrell to help her young daughter who suffers from a serious immunology disorder, including severe eczema and allergies that can cause anaphylactic shock: 'I've asked myself, when she has been very ill, how do you carry on when death is a daily possibility? In this episode, O'Farrell and her young son come close to drowning while swimming off the coast of East Africa. Reader: Hattie Morahan Writer: Maggie O'Farrell Abridger: Kirsteen Cameron Producer: Kirsteen Cameron First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2017. O'Farrell and her son get into difficulties while swimming off the coast of East Africa. Novelist Maggie O'Farrell's memoir, told through a series of near-death experiences.
05	Daughter	20170825	Maggie O'Farrell's startling memoir, in which the bestselling author recounts her life through a series of near-death experiences. The book started out as a private project, a way for O'Farrell to help her young daughter who suffers from a serious immunology disorder, including severe eczema and allergies that can cause her anaphylactic shock: 'I've asked myself, when she has been very ill, how do you carry on when death is a daily possibility? In this final episode, O'Farrell describes the challenges she and her family face trying to give her daughter as normal life a life as possible. Reader: Hattie Morahan Writer: Maggie O'Farrell Abridger: Kirsteen Cameron Producer: Kirsteen Cameron First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2017. Maggie O'Farrell's moving account of coping with her daughter's immunology disorder. Novelist Maggie O'Farrell's memoir, told through a series of near-death experiences.