The House With The Round Window

by Andrew Cheffings

In this life it is important to tell our stories, not hide realities through fear, which anyway only perpetuates fear through silence. In The House With The Round Window I have tried to tell my OCD story. I have done so by fictionalising it. I hope that by doing so I have made a metaphor which can be more useful than a nuts and bolts telling of my OCD journey.
It is a metaphorical story which reflects my own struggle to understand the intrusive thoughts which jump into my mind and stick there, triggering fear and a sense of unreality. Metaphor helps us to tell our authentic stories in a way that allows them to be understood in many different ways, hopefully allowing others to find useful and helpful meanings for their own struggles with anxiety.
The story starts with a childhood trauma which in other circumstances could have caused Post Traumatic Stress Disorder but in a child sensitive to developing OCD triggered an obsessive compulsive path instead. I have set out some of the things which have helped me to accept, understand and work more effectively with the condition, including therapies, music and spirituality. I have shown how OCD can disrupt your life leading to getting stuck in places alien to your core values and to sudden, traumatic loss when finally a situation becomes completely untenable. I have paralleled the OCD story with another metaphorical story of being stuck and held hostage by anxiety to show how it is not only OCD which can lead to these difficult situations.
I hope this story will prove useful to others undertaking similar journeys.

187 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 2018

About the author

Andrew Cheffings was born on a small working farm on the Lincolnshire Marsh. The local culture he was born into was coming to an end. His Grandfather still spoke N. Lincolnshire dialect and had a store of stories, aurally transmitted through the generations. Evenings with him were often spent sharing these stories. Life on the farm had its difficulties. And in recent memory there had been a time when every winter was spent digging long trenches by hand, right across wide, heavy clay fields, back and forth, right through the day, in order to drain the water-logged earth. Andrew's stories reflect the experiences of growing up in a challenging local culture which was coming to its end, but was also rich in stories and traditions. And into these stories, he weaves the modern life which was gradually taking its place. His stories are healings, processing and resolving the wounds where local tradition and modernism meet.

Reviews

[Billy R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book hit me hard not because it’s sad, but because it’s real. Andrew Cheffings doesn’t hide behind clinical terms or self pity; instead, he turns his OCD experience into something metaphorical and deeply human. It’s beautifully written, raw, and unexpectedly comforting. I felt like I was walking beside him through every moment of fear, hope, and discovery.

[Rebecca S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s something hauntingly calm about the way this book unfolds. Cheffings writes with such clarity about the chaos inside the mind that you actually start to understand OCD from the inside out. I learned, I related, and I finished feeling lighter somehow like fear doesn’t always have to win.

[Evan C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The mix of fiction and lived experience here is brilliant. The metaphors are layered but never confusing they open windows (pun intended) into what it’s like to live with intrusive thoughts. You can tell the author poured his soul into these pages. It’s both therapy and art.

[Elizabeth C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s rare to find a book that speaks so openly about OCD without clinical detachment or drama. This isn’t a “woe is me” memoir it’s a deeply creative expression of how anxiety shapes a life. I loved how music and spirituality are woven in as healing tools.

[Lester D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to pause several times while reading not because it was hard to understand, but because it made me reflect on my own fears and patterns. The story gives shape to emotions most of us never talk about. A brave, poetic contribution to mental health literature.

[Franklyn D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re expecting a textbook explanation of OCD, you’ll be surprised. This is a symbolic, metaphor driven narrative that gives the condition emotional meaning. It’s less about facts, more about truth. That’s what makes it memorable.

[Helen J.]

Andrew’s honesty is disarming. He writes about trauma, loss, and recovery in a way that makes you feel safe like it’s okay to face your own fears. I finished this book feeling like I’d just been through a gentle but powerful therapy session.

[Nichole D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The spiritual undertones in this story were what touched me most. It’s not preachy; it’s reflective. The author connects anxiety and faith in ways that feel deeply personal but universally relatable. A must read for anyone dealing with anxiety or overthinking.

[Devin T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The House With The Round Window” is perfectly titled it feels like looking through a circular lens into someone’s inner world. The writing is lyrical yet grounded. It reminds us that healing isn’t linear and that sharing our stories can be a form of freedom.

[Harvey E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book doesn’t try to fix you it simply sits beside you and says, “Me too.” Through metaphor and memory, Andrew Cheffings offers something very rare: genuine understanding. For anyone struggling with intrusive thoughts, this book will feel like a quiet friend who truly gets it.