Sleep Demons

An Insomniac's Memoir

By: Bill Hayes

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Paperback | 7 March 2018 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
368 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.5 x 11.5 x 2

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We often think of sleep as mere stasis, a pause button we press at the end of each day. Yet sleep is full of untold mysteriesâ"eluding us when we seek it too fervently, throwing us into surreal dream worlds when we donât, sometimes even possessing our bodies so that they walk and talk without our conscious volition. Delving into the mysteries of his own sleep patterns, Bill Hayes marvels, âI have come to see that sleep itself tells a story.â

An acclaimed journalist and memoiristâ"and partner of the late neurologist Oliver Sacksâ"Hayes has been plagued by insomnia his entire life. The science and mythology of sleep and sleeplessness form the backbone to Hayesâs narrative of his personal battles with sleep and how they colored his waking life, as he threads stories of fugitive sleep through memories of growing up in the closet, coming out to his Irish Catholic family, watching his friends fall ill during the early years of the AIDS crisis in San Francisco, and finding a lover. An erudite blend of science and personal narrative, Sleep Demons offers a poignant introduction to the topics for which Hayes has since become famous, including art, eros, city life, the history of medical science, and queer identity.

Industry Reviews

"Sleep Demons is a lovely weave of memory and science, great characters and compassionate humor. Insomniacs will love it for the sense of connection and solution; the rest of you (grrr) for its wisdom and wonderful writing."--Anne Lamott, author of Bird by Bird
"What if the hum [of sleep] never comes? That's what writer and photographer Bill Hayes explores in his magnificent book Sleep Demons, part reflection on his own lifelong turmoil in the nocturne, part sweeping inquiry into the sometimes converging, sometimes colliding worlds of sleep research, psychology, medicine, mythology, aging, and mental health."--Maria Popova "Brain Pickings"

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