Female firefighter's memoir to Transworld in 'substantial' pre-empt

Transworld has acquired an "empowering" memoir by one of the UK's most senior female firefighters, Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, in a "substantial" pre-empt. 

Lizzy Goudsmit, editor at Transworld, pre-empted UK and Commonwealth rights, including audio, to Through the Fire from Kirsty McLachlan at David Godwin Associates, calling its author, Cohen-Hatton, "one of the most extraordinary people" she had ever met. 

Cohen-Hatton, who is deputy assistant commissioner for the London Fire Brigade, left home at 15 and school at 16, before joining the fire brigade of a small, South Wales mining community. She has gone on to attend a number of major incidents, including the Westminster terrorist attack in March this year and the Holborn fire in 2015. She also has a PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience, having undertaken a series of night classes, and has won awards for her research into incident command in the emergency services. 

In Through the Fire, she will draw on and unpack her experiences to reveal the realities of firefighting, including the skills and qualities that are essential to surviving in such a fast-paced, high-pressured and emotionally-charged working environment. Cohen-Hatton said: "I hope the book will reveal the human side of firefighting, the ordinary people who work tirelessly to achieve extraordinary things, rather than the superhuman face of firefighting that is often presented to us".

Goudsmit commented: "Sabrina is one of the most extraordinary people I have ever met. I am hugely inspired by her resilience, warmth, knowledge and humour. In Through the Fire she takes us right to the heart of firefighting, from moments of devastation and crisis to the quieter moments when these assumed heroes question themselves, their choices, the decisions they’ve made in the most unforgiving of circumstances. This promises to be an honest, eloquent, empowering book full of important lessons for real life."

Transworld will publish Through the Fire in hardback in spring 2019.