I Am, I Am, I Am

How appropriate that this audiobook memoir, an unlikely examination of life through brushes with death, is narrated by the talented Daisy Donovan. Her tone of voice exudes a veneer of vulnerability overlaying a steely strength, and her delivery is ideal for this collection of interconnected remembrances. Each new chapter title names the relevant body parts involved as the author examines yet another life-altering event. Donovan's pacing and appealing accent make the vignettes come alive for the listener. The wisely placed and haunting first chapter, "Neck," opens the door on O'Farrell's gripping world, which encourages listeners to more closely examine their own. L.B.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

August 1, 2018

Cats may have nine lives, but O'Farrell, who won the Costa Book Award for The Hand That First Held Mine, has had 17, as revealed in this stupendous collection of essays named for various body parts that have caused her near demise. Her aural stand-in, British actor Daisy Donovan, is temperamentally well matched, never acknowledging any hints of self-pity or despair. Donovan's steady tone embodies O'Farrell's remarkable strength recalling illnesses, violence, and accidents. At three, O'Farrell narrowly escaped decapitation-by-car-boot (trunk) and full-body flattening by auto two years later. Two near-drownings took her breath away. Remarkably, her experiences left her unafraid of death: "I viewed my continuing life as an extra, a bonus, a boon; I could do with it what I wanted"--until she became a parent. The final chapter, about a daughter made fragile with life-threatening allergies, is perhaps the collection's most affecting, in which keeping her child alive "one more day" becomes a daily miracle. VERDICT Immediate, irreverent, riveting, O'Farrell's mortal escapes emerge as illuminating, inspiring affirmation of everyday life. ["A heartfelt meditation on the fragility and wonder of life": LJ 3/1/18 starred review of the Knopf hc.]--Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC

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