4. Lungs

Available for 30 days

Maggie O'Farrell and her young son come close to drowning while swimming off the coast of East Africa. 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.