Scotland with a Stranger: A Memoir

“Who goes to Scotland for two weeks with a stranger they met over the internet?”

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.

I've always been a risk-taker, so at 44 I decided to follow my dream, leave everything behind and become an author. It has been a roller coaster ride with a punishing learning curve, but if it were easy, everyone would do it. I love to travel and a trip to Scotland with a complete stranger was the inspiration for my memoir. I also seem to attract crazy experiences and people into my life like a magnet that gives me a never-ending supply of interesting storylines. My writing is fast-paced on purpose because as a reader I hate pages and pages of description. I've been known to throw books across the room and yell out, Come on already, get to the good stuff! If you love a good dirty joke, a cup of coffee so strong you can chew it, and have killed more cats with your curiosity than you can count, I might be your soulmate. My current projects include Velvet Guild, Scotland with a Stranger: A Memoir, AnaStasia, and First You Then Him: A Former Trainwreck's Guide to Becoming then Finding a Healthy Partner. Visit me online www.shop.ninya.us