Sophia Book Club

Hey book lovers!

Do you enjoy getting lost in a great story?

Join our Sophia Book Club! Four times a year, Julie Trites, Vice-Chair of our Board of Directors, shares a book she’s really enjoying. Julie chooses meaningful, engaging reads that connect in some way to substance use challenges.

One of the best parts of being in a book club is sharing ideas. Discussion helps us deepen our understanding of a story, reflect on our own experiences, and appreciate new perspectives.

1. Julie’s Book Club Emails

For each book, Julie sends out personal reflections on the story’s themes along with thoughtful questions to consider as you read.

Sign up for our mailing list to receive:

Julie’s book announcements
Her “ponders” and insights
Book club updates and news

2. Members‑Only book club Facebook Group

Prefer chatting with fellow readers? Join our private Facebook Book Club community!

Join the Private Group Discussion

Have Your Own Book Club? We Can Help!

Do you already run a book club or hope to start one?
We’re a great resource to help you choose diverse, meaningful books, especially stories that touch on themes related to women’s wellness, resilience, and substance use challenges.

We can also help you spark rich, thoughtful discussions by suggesting titles with strong themes, layered characters, and conversation-friendly topics.

If your group is looking for support, new ideas, or book recommendations that deepen connection and understanding, we’re here for you!

Our February-March 2006 Book

The Outrun
By Amy Liptrot

A memoir that reads like a novel, The Outrun is a beautifully crafted story that combines personal reckoning and extraordinary nature writing.

Synopsis
At thirty, after a decade lost in addiction, Amy Liptrot leaves London for the wild Orkney Islands. She returns to the islands' raw edges, plunging into the ocean at dawn, following corncrakes through summer grass, and watching for the Merry Dancers to sweep across winter skies. In this landscape where land meets sea meets light, she begins the slow, salt-stung work of finding herself again.

Amy shares her writing journey:

She spent two winters crafting her memoir from a tiny pink cottage on Papa Westray, Orkney's most north-westerly island. Read her article in The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/17/amy-liptrot-outrun-i-swam-in-the-cold-ocean-orkney-alcoholism

Praise and reviews for The Outrun:

A Sunday Times TOP TEN bestseller, winner of the 2017 Pen Akerley Prize and the 2016 Wainwright Prize. Shortlisted for both the 2017 Ondaatje Prize and 2016 Wellcome Book Prize.

An extraordinary book, harsh and sincere and full of poetry. I keep thinking about it even now, one year after I read it.
- Amazon reviewer

The Outrun is an extraordinary narrative, a warts-and-all, cathartic autobiographical account of recovery from alcoholism twinned with the most beautiful writing about Orkney’s natural world.
- Good Reads reviewer

A clear-eyed memoir of recovery from alcohol addiction. Liptrot's prose skips forward with assurance and clarity… What makes this book so valuable is the way Liptrot maps her recovery onto the natural environment. On the windswept islands of Orkney, Liptrot finds patterns and metaphors that help her think through a difficult time.
- Good Reads reviewer

Question Guide:

Questions to guide your reading of The Outrun by Amy Liptrot:

How does Liptrot use the Orkney landscape as both a literal and metaphorical space for healing? What role does place play in recovery throughout the memoir?
The book moves between different timelines: London, Orkney, her childhood, and her recovery. Does this non-linear structure affect your understanding of addiction and recovery?
In what ways does physical isolation on the islands mirror or contrast with the emotional isolation of addiction? How does the memoir portray the paradox of loneliness in crowds versus solitude in nature?
Liptrot is remarkably honest about her drinking and its consequences. Were there moments where you found her self-awareness surprising, uncomfortable, or illuminating?
Consider the role of her family, particularly her father's bipolar disorder, in the memoir. How does she navigate writing about her family's struggles alongside her own?
How does the process of writing and reflecting on her addiction and recovery shape Liptrot's healing? Does the memoir-writing itself become a form of therapy? What might be gained or lost through such public self-examination?