Reviews and comments ~

What Sophie did next ~

Following her illness with ME/CFS, Sophie Neville travelled to South Africa to stay with a friend, and the different climate led to her rapid recovery. This book is the account of what she got up to over the following few years. Quite a startling mixture - horse safaris, travelling, painting, holiday management and media work in South Africa as it made the transition from Apartheid to full democracy.

It is presented in the form of letters (mostly) between her and her sisters, so the book uncovers the warmth of the relationships within the family, and is written with immediacy and freshness. Much other ground is also covered - the wildlife, plenty about horses and misbehaving cars, lively descriptions of the ex-pat and local workers and tourists, a vivid sense of the locations that Neville is writing about. The book also includes as illustrations many of the pictures she drew. In the meantime, the way in which the lives of Tamzin and Perry unfold in Europe is another story.

As with Funnily Enough, this was a book I really hadn't expected to be engaged by - but I was. Thoroughly recommended. P. M. Fernandez

'This is gorgeous work Sophie, you have a real gift for drawing people into your wonderful adventure in a real and intimate way. I feel almost as if I had been there with you. Great work! ‘ Skye Wieland, Queensland, Australia

‘I am reading your book now on Kindle about your time in Africa and I love it! What a sense of humor you and your family have!’ Allen Hunt

‘I love how you’ve captured your journey with sketches and watercolour paintings.’

'I am  loving your book. Your mother sounds like a riot! Love the mama donkey work!’ Kate Coleridge, writing from Cape Town.