Scotland with a Stranger: A Memoir
All paperbacks come autographed by the author. Personalize an inscription when placing your order. (See photo for more instructions.)
A true story of the most insane healing adventure ever taken. Fans of Eat, Pray, Love, and Wild will enjoy this riveting journey through the Scottish Highlands. Read the first chapter of this unputdownable pilgrimage with humor and heart below.
All paperbacks come autographed by the author. Personalize an inscription when placing your order. (See photo for more instructions.)
A true story of the most insane healing adventure ever taken. Fans of Eat, Pray, Love, and Wild will enjoy this riveting journey through the Scottish Highlands. Read the first chapter of this unputdownable pilgrimage with humor and heart below.
Who goes to Scotland for two weeks with someone they met over the internet?
Part insanely crazy shit show, part incredibly healing hiking journey through the Scottish highlands. An "Eat, Pray, Love" inspired trip gone hilariously wrong, yet beautifully right.
276 pages.
At forty-three, Ninya was depressed, out of shape, and filled with crippling anxiety after addiction, cancer, and divorce had destroyed nearly everything. One day, she received a message from a stranger. This woman offered to lead her on a self-healing trip hiking through the Scottish highlands.
It seemed like a sign—a big sister sent when she needed one most.
In this sometimes hilarious, sometimes terrifying, but always inspiring memoir, an introverted pollyanna is paired up with her polar opposite—a steamrolling, abrasive female with completely unorthodox healing methods. As they barrel through the winding one lane roads in a tiny rental car stopping to hike at breathtaking mountains and glens, an outrageous series of events forces Ninya to reclaim her power and find the strength to heal herself in one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Autographed/Inscribed Editions are autographed by the author and can be inscribed with any message. See photo instructions above. Double check spellings as they will appear exactly as indicated. Inscriptions must be submitted in the "Special Instructions for Seller" text box at the time of the order or you will receive an autographed copy only.
5.0 out of 5 stars Your Book Club Needs This Book Now!
This candid account of one woman's quest to find her mojo again is funny, touching, and sometimes a little alarming, but, above all, inspirational. A single mom with two teens, Ninya takes a leap of faith to meet up with an internet acquaintance, a self-proclaimed life coach, who says she has planned a tour of Scotland that will restore Ninya's soul. Once there, however, Ninya finds that, as the Buddha warned, no matter where you go, there you are. Alongside the vivid beauty of the Scottish wilds, Ninya rediscovers her strength and resiliency. The "life coach" turns out to, instead, be self-absorbed and the trip "plan" turns out to be more of a vague notion, but, in the confusion, Ninya finds the clarity she was missing: you have everything you need inside you, already.
5.0 out of 5 Stars: A Perfectly Crafted Memoir that Keeps You Reading
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The premise alone hooked me and then delivered in a way that surpassed my expectations. Detailed, emotional, and even suspenseful, Scotland with a Stranger is a page-turner that shows that embarking on your dream trip doesn't mean you won't have your share of bumps along the way, but it's what you take from it that counts. I highly recommend to anyone who wishes they had the nerve and opportunity to escape the pressures of their life the way Ninya did and come out of it better despite its rocky, tense, and even dangerous moments.
5.0 out of 5 Stars
There are things in life that speak to the deepest parts of our hearts; our triumphs, our failures, our hopes, our fears, our dreams, our pain. For some it is art, for others, it is music. For some, it will be this book. Ninya shares, in an authentic and uncomplicated way, that she is living a life so many of us live. The names are changed, the rooms are different colors, the smells vary in their complexity. You will cheer her as she makes discoveries about life and self you yourself have made. You will find hope in the lessons she has absorbed; lessons we all know intellectually, but may still be struggling to fully bring into ourselves. You will want to hug away her pain, so much like your own. You will want to assure her she is on a good path, she is worthy, she is strength. She is another version of you, on paper for all to see. She will remind you that your journey is YOUR journey, and yet is the journey of us all. And wherever that journey takes us, we are on a good path, we are worthy, we are strength.
5.0 out of 5 stars Tragedy and Comedy go Together
This is a wonderful book with laughs & insights around every corner!
5.0 out of 5 stars
A perfectly crafted memoir that doesn't sugar coat the bad or ignore the good when traveling to a foreign country with a total stranger who happens to be your complete opposite. A raw look at the author's backstory makes you root for her and want her to have the perfect trip, but the reality of the situation shows that a trip doesn't have to be perfect to be great. In fact, it's the imperfect moments that help her to learn to stand up for herself and get what she wants from it as well as grow as a person.
5.0 out of 5 Stars: Should be in the circle of Anne Lamott and Elizabeth Gilbert
I'd found it hard to concentrate on reading books during quarantine until this one! With two demanding children at home, I wasn't getting very far in any book that I picked up -- until Scotland With A Stranger. I never put it down from start to finish. I completely tuned out the world so that this time when other things interrupted me, I was unaware, for example, that my name had been called several times before I heard it haha! I'd look up, mumble an answer, and get right back into the book. That's the best kind of reading and it'd been too long since I had that!!! Scotland With A Stranger was so honest and brave, it made me both laugh and cry, and was comparable to Anne Lamott! Memoirs and biographies have always been my favorite genre. This book is right there with Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love!
5.0 out of 5 Stars: Not your regular memoir
You would think heading off to Scotland for 2 weeks with someone you have never met would fall under a serious mid-life crisis category. But for Ninya, it led to an amazing journey of self-discovery and forgiveness. Ninya has lived a roller-coaster of a life - dealing with more things than I can imagine. She lays it all out for us - the good, the bad, the ugly, the wicked. She is a real person, telling a real story. Completely unromanticized. Her writing style will have you feeling like you are right there with her, feeling all the feels. Bonus - not only does she describe the beautiful scenery but she has an online photo album available for you to see the pictures and videos she took. Ninya is an inspiration to women everywhere and a phenomenal author. I can't wait to read more from her.