From her earliest childhood, Sophie used to write about things and events and people that interested her, and as she became older she often wrote as well about her own thoughts and feelings. Sometimes her writing was in poetry form and sometimes it was in the form of diary entries or letters or notes.
At her funeral and again at her Memorial Service some of her writings were read out to the congregations. Many people kindly expressed their pleasure in hearing Sophie’s words. It was suggested to the Trustees that a book should be compiled of selected writings, and sold to raise money for Sophie’s Silver Lining Fund. The finished book, with illustrations also found among Sophie’s papers, was published by Sophie’s Silver Lining Fund in March 1999.
The Trustees were greatly helped in promoting the book by advance reviews from Susan Hill, Joanna Trollope and Laurie Purden. These were printed inside the book, and extracts on the back cover page. Dame Judi Dench kindly wrote a foreword. Following its publication the book was sent to many newspapers and publications for review. To our delight glowing reviews were published in The Mail on Sunday, The Daily Mail and The Times Educational Supplement. It was named ‘Book of the Month’ by Just 17 magazine and by Yours magazine.
The first 2000 copies sold out in three months. A further 2000 copies were printed in July 1999 , and the newspaper and magazine reviews were incorporated on the back cover and in full inside the book. There have been three reprints since, with the latest edition being published in May 2012.
Copies of the Log are £7 and can be ordered from: office@sslf.org.uk
Letters from readers.
Probably the most moving outcome of the publication of Sophie’s Log has been the outpouring, in countless letters, of readers’ gratitude and appreciation of Sophie’s writing. These letters have come from people of all ages, most of whom never knew Sophie at all.
“Dear Cherry, Today, as I was clearing out boxes, I came across Sophie’s Log and thoughts turned to you. You may recall, around 6 years ago, I made contact with you after reading Sophie’s Log. This was at a very low point in my life and reading the log brought me an inner peace that I so desperately needed.
Life has moved on and I am now remarried and have a much happier life. As soon as I found Sophie’s Log, I eagerly opened it and read it once again and, as with the first time when I read the log, my heart felt up lifted and a smile came upon my face. I thought I would email you and let you know that I have not forgotten about you or Sophie. I may not have been in contact over these past years but you have been in my thoughts on many occasions.
I hope this finds you well and I trust you will remember me.”
“I was overwhelmed with the joy and wonder and love of life coursing through Sophie’s book. It could be a great source of inspiration to bereaved families.”
“Our daughter has found great comfort in reading Sophie’s wonderful poems and writings. She has touched the essence of those difficult teenage years and helped us all to express our thoughts.”
“Untimely death is particularly hard to bear (I too lost a 20 year old son many years ago) but ….it seems to me you are inspiring others to ‘live for her’ ,to do some of the things she would have done.” “I really thought it was quite amazing in its maturity and insight… the depth of her understanding expressed in ‘Accepting Death’ is quite phenomenal.” “I am sure that each person who reads this book…will notice a subtle difference in their lives thereafter.”
“I was very moved by her extraordinary gift with words. What a lovely idea to make a book so that others can enjoy the richness of what she gave to the world in her short life.”
“Thank you, never has a ‘book’ touched and enlightened me so. “My friend died in a crash 3 years ago. I miss him terribly. But I have the opportunity to live and Sophie showed me hope.”
“As a former headteacher I was fascinated to find at least one young person who could express herself so fluently and was prepared to think about the world in a serious way.”
“The mind of Sophie and her views give us all such hope for the future.”
“She (Sophie) is the friend I have been looking for all my life… I so wish I had known her.”