Scotland Through the Eyes of a Stranger: Ninya Neill's Memoir

Leah: Loved it! Going to me giving it to my grandma to read as I know she will love it too.

United Kingdom on Jul 30, 2022

Bel Hodge: Picked up after suggested by a friend of a friend. Interesting read.. I think I would rather just go to a country on my own than deal with a stranger, especially one abusing my credit card!

United States on Jul 29, 2022

Brenda F.: I thought the premise was good...traveling with a stranger (female) to a unknown country for shared expenses. As you get into it, you realize, that although some of the insights are amazingly truthful and do make you feel a bit empathetic towards the author, it starts to get ridiculous with all the complaining about this woman using her for money, being a party girl while the author just wanted to get back to her boyfriend and it started to sound very narcissistic. The author always wanted time alone and never got it because the other woman was more active and into the whole nature of Scotland rather than musing with words online. I think if you are prepared to travel with someone you aren't familiar with, you get what you get and make the best of it.

United States on Mar 27, 2022

cb: The author’s personal “Odyssey” was compelling and worth the read! :). Found a “pearl” which is what I most look for in a read. It moved me:)!🎄

United States on Dec 15, 2021

Jude Irwin: Amazon banned my earlier review although it did not break any community guidelines. Why? Because they expect you to buy more stuff and don’t want honest negative assessments. Ungrammatical, shallow, mediocre to poor writing characterizes this flimsy tale. No point writing more, because some bot will probably apply an algorithm that deletes this review also.

United Kingdom on Dec 07, 2021

Fran S.: This is a great book. I so loved reading about Scotland (on our travel list as soon as travel opens up again) and reading how Ninya grew and changed during this trip was incredible. I can’t relate to the things she dealt with but thought she was very brave to write about it. This is a wonderful story about how a middle-aged woman learns how to trust and love herself and it takes place in a beautiful country. At times I felt like I was there with her. Kudos to you Ninya on a beautiful story and changing your life. You are an inspiration for others.
I highly recommend this book.

United States on Nov 18, 2020

K: I was very excited to read this book based on the blurb at the back. And though I felt for Ninya and her story, this read more like an extended Facebook vent. The kind that made me delete my account years ago. So much of what I wanted to read about Scotland’s beauty and healing touch was marred by the antics of maybe the most ridiculous American woman to ever roam the earth. I can see how she was instrumental in Ninya’s healing journey but that seems to be what the book really pivots on, rather than Scotland itself. The blurb on the back is misleading in that way. I expected the stranger to be a Scottish woman who would take Ninya on a healing journey that would connect her soul to the ancient wisdom and magic of the Scottish highlands. That is how I interpreted the blurb. That is not this book. That’s not to say it isn’t well written. And I'm very glad for Ninyas growth through it all. I do hope Ninya returns to Scotland, or anywhere, and tells another story of bravery and courage and growth that comes from her experiences interacting with the raw, natural beauty of wherever she visits, not because she’s forced into growth because her travel mate leaves her no choice.

Canada on Jul 15, 2020

mandy61: Loved it.
I couldn't have stuck with Erika. Good for you for doing so x

United Kingdom on Jun 20, 2020

Bramble Talonshire: 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 it is the journey of us all.
And wherever that journey takes us, we are on a good path, we are worthy, we are strength.

United States on Jun 01, 2020