Sphere lands TV presenter Sophie Morgan's 'unflinching' memoir

Sphere has acquired TV presenter Sophie L Morgan's "unflinching" memoir Driving Forwards: A Journey of Resilience and Empowerment After Life-Changing Injury.

Fiona Rose, senior commissioning editor at Sphere, acquired world rights from Nelle Andrew at Rachel Mills Literary. Driving Forwards will be published in hardback, e-book and audio on 17th March 2022.

The book charts Morgan's experiences from the age of 18, when a car accident on A-Level results day changed the course of her life. The synopsis explains: "On the precipice of starting her adult life, aged 18, Sophie, a rebellious and incorrigible wild child, crashed her car and was instantly paralysed from the chest down. Rushed to hospital, everything she had dreamed for her life was instantly forgotten and her journey to rediscover herself and build a different life began. But being told she would never walk again would come to be the least of her concerns.

"Over the next 18 years, as she strived to come to terms with the change in her body, her relationships were put to the test; she has had to learn to cope with the many unexpected and unpredictable setbacks of living with paralysis; she has had to overcome her own and other people’s perceptions of disability and explore the limits of her abilities, all while searching for love, acceptance, meaning, identity and purpose. Driving Forwards is a remarkable and powerful memoir detailing Sophie’s life-changing injury, her recovery, and how she went on to become the first female wheelchair user in the world with her own television series. Strikingly honest, her story is unusual and yet relatable, inspiring us to see how adversity can be channelled into opportunity and how ongoing resilience can ultimately lead to empowerment."

Morgan can currently be seen presenting "Living Wild: How to Change Your Life" on Channel 4 and will host the channel's coverage of the Paralympic Games from Tokyo. Commenting on her memoir, she said: "Since becoming paralysed, I have often wondered whether, if I could go back and change what happened to me, I would. In writing Driving Forwards, I have been as honest as possible with myself and finally, I am able to answer that question.

"So often the disability experience is told through one lens and through telling my life story so far, I hope to inspire change in the perceptions that can otherwise limit women like me. My memoir is deliberately unflinching, unrelentless and, at times, painfully raw, but it is also joyful, a celebration, an ode to this extraordinary life. You never know what life is going to throw at you, and so I hope the book reassures and empowers readers to keep, ahem, driving forwards."

Rose said: "Sophie is an absolute powerhouse, and it is a privilege to help her share her moving, compelling and at times darkly funny story with the world. I’m so proud to be publishing this remarkable book, and I can’t wait for readers everywhere to be as impressed by Sophie as I am."