3. Abdomen

Available for 28 days

Maggie O'Farrell recalls her first son's difficult birth and the impact of a stranger's compassionate gesture as doctors battled to save her life. 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.