Gargoyles — Harriet Mercer

Six weeks after her fortieth birthday, Harriet is struck by a rare and lifethreatening illness. What follows is a long, painful and arduous stay at Charing Cross Hospital.

From the first day in Critical Care, whenever Harriet tries to sleep, the backs of her eyes come alive with soul-sucking gargoyles; she remains awake for the entire six weeks. Such wakefulness produces its own hallucinations: the gargoyles become metaphors for lurking demons, fear of death, her relationship with her late father, and her dream of having a family. A stunning blend of poetic memoir and essays, Gargoyles explores the effects of illness, grief, love, and loss, but is also about the power of memory, which both haunts and enriches. It asks us to celebrate that which is in front of us, not taking our lives and health for granted. Sometimes, this means we have to learn to live with the gargoyles. An insightful and personal work of Narrative Non-Fiction that will appeal to fans of Sinead Gleeson, Amy Liptrot, and Maggie OFarrell.