2. Cerebellum

Available for 30 days

Maggie recalls the moment at when she woke up to find the world 'looked completely different'. Aged just eight, 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 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.