Sleepless

Discovering the Power of the Night Self

By: Annabel Abbs

Narrated by: Karen Cass

THE NIGHT SELF IS: CREATIVE. CURIOUS. VULNERABLE. ENCHANTED. COURAGEOUS.

In the winter of 2020, Annabel Abbs experienced a series of bereavements. As she grieved, she kept busy by day, but at night sleep eluded her. And yet her sleeplessness led to a profound and unexpected discovery: her Night Self.

As the night transformed into a place of creativity and liberation, Annabel found she wasn't alone. From the radical fifteenth-century philosopher Laura Cereta and subversive artist Louise Bourgeois, to Virginia Woolf and the activist Peace Pilgrim, women have long found sanctuary, inspiration and courage in darkness.

Drawing on the latest science, which shows we are more imaginative, open-minded and reflective at night, Annabel set out to discover the potential of her Night Self. Sleepless follows her journey, from midnight hikes to starlit swims, from Singapore, the brightest city on Earth, to the darkest corner of the Arctic Circle, and finally to that most elusive of places - sleep.

A moving, revelatory voyage into the dark, Sleepless invites us to feel less anxious about our sleep, and to embrace the possibilities of the night.

©2024 Annabel Abbs (P)2024 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critic reviews

Transforms the dead of the night into a place alive with feminine creativity, curiosity and self-discovery. You'll find yourself longing for the dark (Tabitha Carvan)

A beautiful book that weaves together science, storytelling and self-discovery. Soft, soothing and soulful (Nicola Jane Hobbs, author of The Relaxed Woman)

This book asks one of the most beautiful questions a Big Soul can ask herself: What if our insomnia was a wondrous, life-thriving thing? As a reader, we answer it together with weary but deeply fulfilled relief, yes, yes, it is! (Sarah Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of This One Wild and Precious Life)