I Was a Beautiful Day (Nick Hern Books)

the long version

"Dan is a survivor. A survivor of the first Gulf War, when he was invalided out of action with shellshock, and a survivor of exile from his native Lewis in the Outer Hebrides to a mainland hospital where he now lives. Existing somewhere between sadness and contentment, he is alternately entertained and maddened by his new friend and fellow patient, Lube." "But one day he is told that the hospital is closing as part of a nationwide programme of reform - and on the same day a young woman arrives from the Ordnance Survey. She is convinced that Dan's obsession - making artwork that maps his memories of his native island in bizarre, intimate detail - is a treasure-trove for the public good."--BOOK JACKET.