Book excerpt: A haunting memoir that delves into obsessive compulsive disorder and explores what it is like living with violent intrusive thoughts. "In the Art of Memoir, Mary Karr wrote: 'In some ways, writing a memoir is knocking yourself out with your own fist, if it's done right.' By this measure, Jillian Halket's debut memoir, Blade in the Shadow, has surely been done right." - Ann Rawson, author of A Savage Art and The Witch House. From a young age, Jillian is obsessed with rituals to keep herself and others safe from the intense, dark thoughts. After moving to Glasgow, she hopes for a new beginning but the thoughts keep getting louder, so she escapes by pushing her body to unknown limits. Blade in the Shadow is a coming-of-age memoir filled with hope, sadness, strength and beautiful prose, in which Jillian shares her story of how darkly absurd life can be. Jillian Halket's debut memoir is a book that dispels myths surrounding OCD, substance abuse and sexual assault. She is a young, working-class, disabled woman from rural Scotland with a powerful and sensitive voice.