I Am, I Am, I Am

My rating: * * * *

Goodreads Description

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. Intelligent, insightful, inspirational, 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? My Review

I read this book over the last two days of 2017, and I must say, it was the perfect read for that time of the year.

This book highlights author Maggie O'Farrell's seventeen brushes with death. It's a book about living, about dying, and about how precarious the line between the two can be. It's a book that highlights how we should never take a single day for granted, how we should live life to the fullest, and how we should never think that death isn't around the corner.

At a time of year where one generally thinks back over the past 12 months and reminisces about the highlights, and laments the low-lights, where one is slightly apprehensive about the year to come and what it might bring, this read was exceptionally well timed. At the end of the day, it's a lesson in how to appreciate life, in how we should value each and minute that we have, even the ones that cause us pain and unhappiness, because ultimately we are alive, we are living and that's how we are able to have the experiences that we have, both good and bad.

I must say, I found this read really interesting and I raced through it. It's not a very long book but I was totally gripped. One really does get a good sense and feel for this author and for the moments in her life that have defined her. I wouldn't say that each and every incident that made it into the book was truly a "near death" experience, but the majority of them were. There are some harrowing stories, where the line between life and death is as clear as day, and then other experiences that must have been very scary but that don't classify as genuine near death experiences, but whose inclusion in the book makes sense, and which I can understand.

The book ends with a chapter about the author's daughter and the struggles that they are going through because of her health. Another lesson to all of us to not take our health for granted, and to live each day to the fullest.

I loved this book, absolutely and totally! A fantastic read for the start of a new year. We've been given a clean slate, let's use it wisely.

My Rating: * * * *

Publication Date: November 2017 (South Africa)

Genre: Memoir

Format: Trade Paperback

Source: Review copy received from the publisher. Many thanks to author, Maggie O'Farrell and Jonathan Ball SA for my copy. It was my pleasure to read and review this title.