Patient: Cult Heroes of the Twentieth Century

Jacket Description/Back: In the summer of 1992, on the eve of an American tour, Ben Watt, one half of British pop duo Everything But The Girl, was taken into a London hospital complaining of chest pain. He didn't leave for two and a half months. Still only twenty-nine, Watt had developed a rare life-threatening disease that initially baffled doctors. He needed two months of hospital treatment and four risky operations to remove dead internal tissue before the condition was stabilized. By the time he was allowed home, his ravaged body was forty-six pounds lighter, and he was missing most of his small intestine. But Patient is more than a diary of Watt's hospital days. As he awakens bewildered and disoriented in a hospital bed between bouts of surgery, Watt injects pathos and humor into his medical nightmare, writing about his childhood and reflecting on his family and on his shared life with bandmember and partner Tracey Thorn. The result is a provocative and affecting memoir about life, illness, and survival. Biographical Note: Born in 1962, Benn Watt is a musician, songwriter, and DJ. He is also an acclaimed author; his most recent book is the memoir "Romany and Tom." He is perhaps most well-known for his twenty-year career in alt-pop duo Everything But The Girl (1982-2002). He is an international club and radio DJ, and since 2003 has run his own independent record labels Buzzin' Fly and Strange Feeling. Having recently returned to songwriting and live performance, "Hendra"--his first solo album for thirty years--is now available on his new imprint Unmade Road. He lives in north London with his wife Tracey Thorn and their three children. Follow him on Twitter: @Ben_WattReview Quotes: * A "New York Times" Notable Book of the Year * A "New York Newsday, Village Voice Literary Supplement, " and "Sunday Times" (UK) Book of the Year * Finalist for the "Esquire" (UK) Best Nonfiction Award "Told with great wit and without self-pity, "Patient" is a sobering look at how life can suddenly be transformed." --"New York Times Book Review" "[A] flawless telling of his unexpected and drawn-out battle with an extremely rare--and nearly fatal--illness." --"New Yorker" "Watt's spare, delicate prose and natural humility are sweet enough to make this bitter pill of a book go down like candy." --"Entertainment Weekly" "Funny, frightening, and piercingly vulnerable." --"Interview" "The reader comes away with an unforgettable understanding of the transformative nature of severe illness. . . . Few have told such a compelling life-story as skillfully." --"San Francisco Chronicle" "Watt is a sharp observer and a gifted writer. . . . What comes through in this very remarkable story is the author's sense of self and of the order and surprise of life." --"Seattle Times" "Unlike so many people who've looked death in the eye and lived (long enough) to write about it, Watt doesn't wax philosophical or draw too improbably many lessons from being desperately ill; he just records his own consciousness as it shrinks to the size of his body and his immediate surroundings, which in fact tells us more about what illness means and what it does to us than any sort of positive-minded propaganda." --"Village Voice Literary Supplement" "Lucid and affecting." --"Time Out" "Watt writes like a man in a precarious lifeboat keeping his eyes firmly on the life continuing on shore. . . . It's his becoming modesty that allows the book the feel of triumph without ostentation." --"Boston Phoenix" "At once horrifying and humorous . . . [Watt] proves himself to be a talented and insightful author, his prose enlivenedrPublisher Marketing: In the summer of 1992, on the eve of an American tour, Ben Watt, on half of the Billboard-topping duo Everything But The Girl, was taken into 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. Four risky operations were performed to remove dead tissue from his insides before his condition was stabilized. By the time he ws 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. Publisher Marketing: In the summer of 1992, on the eve of an American tour, Ben Watt, on half of the Billboard-topping duo Everything But The Girl, was taken into 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. Four risky operations were performed to remove dead tissue from his insides before his condition was stabilized. By the time he ws 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. Review Citations:

Publishers Weekly 02/03/1997 pg. 89 (EAN 9780802116123, Hardcover)

Kirkus Reviews 02/01/1997 pg. 212 (EAN 9780802116123, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

New York Times 05/18/1997 pg. 20 (EAN 9780802116123, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Watt, Ben Born in 1962, Ben Watt is a musician, songwriter, DJ and author. His first book, "Patient: The True Story of a Rare Illness" was a "New York Times" Notable Book of the Year, voted a "Sunday Times" Book of the Year by William Boyd and shortlisted for the "Esquire" Non-fiction Book of the Year. He is perhaps most well known for his twenty-year career in alt-pop duo Everything But The Girl (1982-2002). He is also an international club and radio DJ, and since 2003 has run his own independent record labels Buzzin' Fly and Strange Feeling. Having recently returned to songwriting and live performance, his first solo album for thirty years is expected in 2014. He lives in north London with his wife Tracey Thorn and their three children. Follow him on Twitter: @Ben_Watt www.benwatt.com