2024 01 Spring with bleed V4 - Flipbook - Page 12
feedback. `One springs to mind immediately,9 says Sophie. `A woman in
her 50s messaged me to say `I9ve just finished The Little Book Of Recovery
and I cannot put into words how much reading this has helped me get
through my thing, so I wanted to say thank you.9 And it was really heartfelt she'd been through some awful abuse. What was beautiful is that she was
so vulnerable and open in her message.9 For someone who is so candid
about her past, it is interesting that Sophie started publishing not in her
own name, but under a pseudonym - Sofia A. `At that point I wanted to
separate myself from the things that I'd been
through - that's my orst thought. It's almost like it
was easier to have a pen name, and she was the one
who was at the forefront, and the conodent persona
that I'd present in the books. And in my head it took
the pressure off me to then be this person. It's
almost like Sooa A is the strong and healing person
that I see myself to be, and Sophie is the person
behind it trying to work
through it all. I think it helped me to detach slightly
from what I'd been through.9 Looking at pictures of
Sophie as a kid at home on the farm, it9s hard to
imagine the challenges she would face. So if she
could talk to that Sophie now, what would she say?
`Oh God that makes want to cry,9 she says. `I love
this stuff though, because it's so powerful! In terms
of how far I9ve come, with the sobriety kicking off in
2020, I think I9ve met myself onally. Through writing
and through becoming this person, and through having those warm
community roots I think I'm in a much better place than I ever have been.
So I9d say `you are more amazing than you could ever imagine and just
never ever ever second guess yourself9. Because I spent so many years
doing just that, and thinking I wasn't good enough. So I would just want to
tell her that - `go smash it girl - go own life, have adventures, be you, and
don't second guess a single minute of it.9
To see video and a longer
version of this story, see our extra content page. To order copies of
Sophie9s books, go to www.sooaapoetry.com
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for extra content— www.kingsnymptononline.com/additional-material