5 mInUTES wITH… MAGGIE O’FARRELL

BESTSELLING NOVELIST MAGGIE O’FARRELL, HAS WRITTEN A PERSONAL MEMOIR, I Am, I Am, I Am (HEADLINE REVIEW), WHICH IS OUT NOW.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BOOK? THE MEMOIR DESCRIBES DIFFERENT STAGES OF MY LIFE, ALL SEEN THROUGH THE LENS

OF A NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE. I WRITE ABOUT THE MONTHS THAT I SPENT IN HOSPITAL AFTER CONTRACTING ENCEPHALITIS AT THE AGE OF EIGHT, A TEENAGE MOMENT OF MADNESS BY

THE SEA, AN ENCOUNTER WITH A DISTURBED MAN, AND A SEVERE ILLNESS IN RURAL CHINA. WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO

WRITE IT NOW? IT BEGAN

AS A PRIVATE PROJECT FOR MY DAUGHTER, AS A RESPONSE TO LIVING WITH HER LIFE-THREATENING MEDICAL CONDITION. SHE HAS AN IMMUNOLOGY DISORDER.

WHICH OF YOUR EXPERIENCES STANDS OUT? EACH INSTANCE OF MY DAUGHTER’S CLOSE SHAVES ARE INDELIBLY ETCHED ON MY MEMORY. FROM MY OWN LIFE, THE WORST IS THE ILLNESS I HAD AS A CHILD.

HOW HAS FACING DEATH AFFECTED YOU? COMING SO CLOSE TO DEATH AS A CHILD MADE ME BLASÉ ABOUT IT, FOR A WHILE. I TOOK RISKS, I TRAVELLED, OFTEN ALONE. IT ALSO MADE ME VERY CONSCIOUS OF HOW FRAGILE WE ARE, AND HOW WE NEED TO MAKE EVERY HEARTBEAT COUNT.

HAS ALL THIS CHANGED YOUR APPROACH TO YOUR FAMILY?

I LIVE WITH A BACKGROUND HUM OR AWARENESS OF WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN. BUT YOU CAN’T LET THE SITUATION TAKE OVER – YOU HAVE TO FORGE A LIFE AROUND IT. YOU LEARN COMPASSION, PATIENCE AND RESILIENCE.

WHAT WAS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT WRITING YOUR OWN MEMOIR? SOMETIMES, I WOULD FIND MYSELF THINKING, “NOW, IF I COULD JUST MOVE THIS SCENE TO, SAY, SPAIN…”

HOW DID YOU WRITE IT?

I WROTE THE BOOK INITIALLY FOR MYSELF, AND FOR MY CHILDREN, IN SPORADIC BURSTS. I WAS TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF BRUSHES WITH DEATH: WHAT THEY MEAN FOR US, AND HOW WE PICK OURSELVES UP

AND CARRY ON.