Patient: The True Story of a Rare Illness
Ben Watt'sPatientis not the memoir one might expect from half of  the pop duo Everything But The Girl. This is no star diary, no ordinary account of  songwriting or performances, but a harrowing tale of Watt's battle with a rare life- threatening disease that ravaged his innards and left him with only three feet of intestine.  This brush with death compelled Watt to write--the first thing he's "done apart  from making records," andPatientchronicles the months of intense pain and  idleness he spent in hospitals.  Watt's prose, in a simple lyrical style that recall his songs,  pulls the reader to his bedside as he alternates between drug-induced hazes and  excruciatingly clear visions of his life. The disorientation and fear grow more palpable as  his story unfolds.  He likens his first major illness to a trip up a mountain: bearings are  lost as vestiges of individuality and pride fall away in the fight for survival. Day and  night become indistinguishable, and the line between awareness and unconsciousness  blurs. Despite the nightmarish nature of his ordeal, Watt manages tender reflections on  his family life and his relationship with fellow bandmember and girlfriend, Tracey Thorn.