Patient: The True Story of a Rare Illness

By Ben Watt

Book Overview

In the summer of 1992, on the eve of an American tour, Ben Watt, one half of the Billboard-topping pop duo Everything But The Girl, was taken to a London hospital complaining of chest pain. He didn't leave for two and a half months. Watt had developed a rare life-threatening disease that initially baffled doctors. By the time he was allowed home, his ravaged body was forty-six pounds lighter and he was missing most of his small intestine. Watt injects pathos and humor into his medical nightmare, writing about his childhood, reflecting on his family and on his shared life with band member and partner Tracey Thorn. The result is a provocative and affecting memoir about life, illness, and survival.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802135838
• ISBN13: 9780802135834
• Release Date: August 1998
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Memorable, insightful

I'll admit I picked this up mostly out of curiosity as a longtime fan of Everything But the Girl. What kept me reading, however, was Ben Watt's skill as a writer. His story is gripping and harrowing, but told with a dry wit and wonderful observations. This book is not just about one man coming to terms with serious illness, but how that experience affected his relationships with his loved ones and his view of himself. This would be a great book for anyone in the health care field to read; it gives you a sense of the patient as a full human being, not just a "problem" to be fixed. Ben Watt's writing skills are as strong as his ample skills as a musician/songwriter. This book has my highest recommendation.

Inspirational and touching...

I recently re-read "Patient" by Ben Watt, which I read five years ago when it came out. It is a truly amazing and rare book, a poetic and unsentimental look at life threatening illness. In 1992, Watt nearly died after a rare disease was discovered which required the removal of 3/4 of his lower intestine. At the time, Watt was well known in Britain as one half of Everything But the Girl, a jazzy acoustic band he created with longtime love Tracey Thorn. This was before their surprise # 1 smash "Missing" put them on the map in the US and before their successful transition to techno-club music, which continues to this day. (Watt is currently a DJ and club owner in London; EBTG's last album came out in 1999.)The book is spare and uncomprimising in its look at sudden, life threatening illness. It details the two month hospital stay when Watt was reduced at times to skeletal remains and a hallucinatory state.I remember cringing my way through parts of it the first time I read it. On second review, I marvel at the lack of vanity of both Watt and Thorn as they dealt with the bodily breakdown caused by this illness. And we are talking serious bodily breakdown -- the Farrelly Brothers seem restrained by comparison!Thorn comes across valiantly through the eyes of Watt, who seems smitten with her even after a then 10 year relationship. In spare and poetic vignettes, he flashes back on healthier times for them: meeting at Hull University in 1981, vacationing on Bird Island and in Scarborough, and a final, touching sketch of a trip to Cape Cod after Watt recovered from this episode. Their relationship is truly inspiring and life affirming, and will cause any fan to reconsider the lyrics of their subsequent love songs. (They are still together.)Mainly though, the book unsparingly details the ravages of this disease, and the near miraculous recovery. I challenge anyone to read it and not be grateful for what they have. The fact that Watt does this without ever being sentimental or self-pitying is amazing. He seems like an amazing person. We would have lost a lot of great music if he had died in 1992, but more would have been lost if this book had never been written. It is a gift to those in recovery and grief.

Thank You Ben Watt!

Right from the beginning,and I'm talking about the Preface,I was drawn into Ben Watt's story. His story is one of a human condition that can also be so dehumanizing. Very ill he spends months in the hospitals,in pain,undiagnosed,unable to eat, and having surgery upon surgery. He talks openly(no holds barred) and even at times injects humor,especially into the more humiliating aspects of being in the hospital.He talks about the big stuff, the surgeries,all the tubes coming and going from his body,watching himself shrink down to nothing and the little stuff, how good it felt to take his first shower in weeks, or put on a pair of new shoes and go for a walk OUTSIDE!Things most of us take for granted every day. We are also let into his everyday thoughts(sometimes while he's on pain killers) about everything going on around him and everything being done to him. He also gives us a glimpse of his life before the illness. He speaks as though his life is passing before his eyes.He senses all the time what his loved one are going through along with him. His girlfriend Tracey always at his side. Finally diagnosed he assesses what kind of life may lie ahead for Tracey and him.Thank you Ben Watt for sharing your journey with the world. Even if you have not gone through anything close to this, you will be touched by this story. If you've been through a similar experience or are close to someone who has,this book will give you strength and understanding. It did for me.....Laurie also recommended: Kirk Douglas The Ragman's Son An Autobiography

An essential read for all who work in health

Nurses, doctors, and other health professionals should all read this book. Often we focus on our own problems and long working hours. This book reinforces the fact that the patient has a 24-hour working day, often unable to sleep, to carry out the smallest activities themselves. this book is also recommended to the general reader.

I couldn't put this book down

Watt's account of his ordeal is honest and touching. You can feel his pain and upset, you can also experience the love and relief he feels because of those who go through the experience with him. Being ill, he teaches, is not an individual experience. An illness touches all the people in your life and impacts everything around you and you are powerless to controll it. I couldn't stop reading the book. It's writing style is simple and visual-it's an easy read that I would suggest to anyone.