I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death
Ratings40
Average rating4.2
Maggie O'Farrell has a way of reaching right through the pages to your heart.
I'm still reeling from this astonishing memoir.
The premise drew me in immediately; it's a memoir told in seventeen stories, each centering on one of O'Farrell's brushes with death. The writing is beautiful, both lyrical and (at times) disturbingly, can't-look-away visceral.
As an anxiety-prone, risk-averse human, I admit I found myself in disbelief at the frequency and ferocity of O'Farrell's near-death experiences (for example, if I'd survived even one of her three near-drownings, I think I'd probably stop swimming for a while or, uh, forever). Her urge to live life to its absolute fullest, to push boundaries and risk bodies, comes in large part from surviving encephalitis as a child. Remarkably, what she takes away from that experience is that the rest of her life is a bonus, something she lucked into, something to be taken the utmost advantage of rather than tucked away safely on a high shelf.
While all the stories are powerful, by far the most harrowing for me is the first, in which she re-encounters a man on a trail and knows implicitly and unequivocally that he means to harm her. The story of her miscarriage was also gut-wrenching.
This was amazing and I'm glad to have read it. I'm embarrassed to admit I've never read Maggie O'Farrell before - no, not even Hamnet! - and this has skyrocketed her to the top of my list.
Maggie O'Farrell tells the story of her life through seventeen times that she had a close encounter with death. Some of the incidents were brief and life was quickly restored to normalcy. But some of the incidents were dramatic and had life-changing consequences.
It's a novel idea, to tell the story of your life through your encounters with death. But it's more than just novelty that carries you through the book. O'Farrell is a beautiful writer, and it's her reflections on death and life that make this an interesting read.
I really liked this book. Thought the structure was very effective more so for being out of chronological order which seemed to allow for a feeling of getting more insight into the life and personality of Maggie. I found it a very moving book over all.
Most of these stories were fantastic. O'Farrell has such a lovely way with words and that was true here as well. Some of these did feel repetitive (there were 3 centered around drowning) but others were so unique and touching. The epilogue was heartfelt and one of the best parts for the book, and the first story was gripping. Overall a really strong memoir.