The Girl with Nine Wigs

A Memoir

  • Imprint: Vie
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 272
  • Price: £8.99
  • Publication date: 8 October 2015
  • ISBN: 9781849538688

About the book

Sophie is 21 when she is diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of cancer. A striking, fun-loving student, she finds her world reduced overnight to the sterile confines of a hospital. But within these walls Sophie discovers a whole new world of gossiping nurses and sexy doctors, and of hair loss and eyebrow pencils.
As Sophie faces the challenges of chemotherapy, wigs – now a crucial part of her life – become a powerful form of self-expression. Each of her nine wigs makes her feel stronger and gives her a distinct personality, and that is why each has its own name: Stella, Sue, Daisy, Blondie, Platina, Uma, Pam, Lydia and Bebé. There’s a bit of Sophie in all of them, and they reveal as much as they hide. Sophie is determined to be much more than a cancer patient.

Reviews

'An uplifting and beautiful true story'

Heat Magazine

‘It's a witty, honest and poignant novel that is not only inspiring, but a total joy to read. The Girl With The Nine Wigs is so uplifting that you just want it to go on and on, and it's strange: I often shyed away from memoirs, thinking they'd just be drawing on the past, that they'd upset me...but the book is so, important… I don't think that I'll ever forget reading this book. I don't know what I was expecting when the publishers sent me a copy, but not this: it was absolutely brilliant, and completely unmissable’

Blame My Bookshelf Blog

‘Finished reading #thegirlwithninewigs last night - amazing book! @sophievanderstap is such an incredibly brave woman - well worth a read’

A Girl on a Journey Blog

‘Its pages feel less like a record of disease than a snapshot of survival… it stands as a fine testament to remarkable strength in the toughest of circumstances’

We Love This Book

'an inspirational story'

Teens Unite

'An extraordinary book from an extraordinary girl.' 

Marie Claire (Germany)

'[Sophie’s diary] will give you goosebumps'  

Elle Girl (Germany)