BOOK LAUNCH NEWS

Was This In The Plan? London Launch

Author, Mother, Carer & Campaigner, Stephanie Nimmo, was joined by 75 friends, family, journalists and a sprinkling of celebs, including Jo Whiley and Benedict Wong, to celebrate what would have been her Silver Wedding Anniversary...and the launch of her new book - Was This In The Plan?

Captioned photos available for press use:http://bit.ly/2woJn5s
Photo credit: Carlos Adama Photography 

MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES: Steph Nimmo (from Wimbledon, London) is available for interview, editorial commission and to attend literary festivals as a speaker. Steph will be at the Chiswick Author Event this evening (Chiswick Waterstones, London), the Chiswick Book Festival and the Wimbledon Book Fest. Steph also runs ‘Death Cafés' in which Was This In The Plan? Conversations about the only thing in life you can really plan for - death - help people to be more open to talking about funeral plans, life goals and relationships!

London 13^thSeptember 2017: Stephanie Nimmo promised her husband, Andy, that she would write a book about their life, to inspire people with his catchphrase that they lived by: "It's not the cards you're dealt, it's how you play them." Last night, in the Yorkshire Grey Pub in London (just around the corner from Great Ormond Street Hospital where Steph and her family have spent so much time over the past 12 years) surrounded by supporters and friends from across the decades, Steph raised a glass to Andy on their 25^thwedding anniversary, and toasted her book becoming an overnight best-seller.

Hollywood actor Benedict Wong (Dr Strange, Avengers, Marco Polo, The Martian) read an extract from Was This In The Plan?, writer and producer of Motherland (commissioned for a BBC series to air in 2018) Helen Linehan interviewed author Steph Nimmo, and Helen Lewis, co-director of publishing house Hashtag Press, shared how she had been inspired by Steph, from one Mum to another, from the day they first met just a year ago almost to the day.

Other guests at the book launch included radio presenter and media star Jo Whiley, who kindly also wrote the Foreword, Nina Nannar who had to leave early to read the 10 o'clock news, Sarah Alexander (Armstrong & Miller, Smack the Pony, Coupling), and Peter Serafinowicz (Guardians of the Galaxy, Shaun of the Dead, The Tick).

Far from being a misery memoir, Was This In The Plan?, is a frank, open and no-holds-barred account of how a family was determined not just to survive but to thrive when the odds were against them. It will make you question your own attitude to life and how you choose to respond when unexpected events throw you off course.

In 2004 Stephanie Nimmo was a career-focused, suburban mother of three, happily married to the love of her life, Andy. In December that year their fourth child was born and life as Steph knew it changed dramatically. From having to give up a successful career to care for her fragile, life-limited daughter, to learning how to cope with the challenges of her sons' autism diagnoses and the cruel blow of Andy's terminal cancer, Steph learned very early on that it's not the cards you are dealt in life but how you play them.

About the Author...

Stephanie Nimmo is a London-based writer, mother, music-lover, carer, widow, bereaved parent, runner and all-round plate spinner. She's still trying to have a life, despite life's unexpected twists and turns. Stephanie started writing about her life (caring for her youngest daughter who had a rare genetic condition) as a way of documenting what was happening, but also in order to share an insight into a world and a life that she previously knew nothing about. The blog grew and grew in popularity and is now read by tens of thousands of people around the world:http://www.wasthisintheplan.co.uk/.

As her family's life became increasingly complicated Stephanie's blog was not only therapeutic, but it also helped educate a wider audience on the realities of caring not only for a complex child but a terminally ill husband. Stephanie Nimmo's experiences have shown her to possess an incredible resilience she never knew she had, it has shaped her and she believes that we are all shaped by what happens to us.

"We can't choose our life's path, much as we try, the unexpected will always happen, but it's how we respond to it that makes the difference. I decided to write my book after my husband passed away as I not only wanted to share our story but also share that we should take nothing for granted in life. I really have had to seize the day and I hope that my book will inspire readers to reflect on their own lives and how they choose to respond to what happens to them."

Talking Points...

• From a family of six to four in just over a year, losing her husband to cancer and then 14 months later her 12-year-old daughter Daisy following life-long illness, Stephanie writes with such powerful, raw honesty that it is impossible to not be moved and inspired by her story.

• Was This In The Plan? shows how life can change in the blink of an eye. From suburban career mum to full-time carer, single parent, and bereaved mother flying solo, Stephanie is strong, inspiring and resilient and manages to write with such clarity, positivity and openeess.

• Life as a full-time carer, raising kids with a disabled sibling, managing routine and respite, responding to awkward/crass comments, and raising awareness about the importance of carers.

• Steph Nimmo will be appearing at myriad events over the coming months including the Chiswick Book Festival (13^thSeptember) and the Wimbledon Book Fest (7^thOctober). Steph is also running a series of Death Café events including one in Wimbledon (11^thOctober) and Teddington (18^thOctober). For more info visit:www.stephnimmo.com.

Q&A With Steph Nimmo...

1. There's a lot in the press recently about resilience...why do you think this word/term is making such an impact right now? What does it mean to you?

Resilience is like a muscle, the more you use it the more it develops. I think books like Sheryl Sandberg's Option B show that life can and will go on, despite the worst things happening. For me the unimagineable happened - I lost my husband and my child within the space of just over a year but I'm determined not just to survive but to thrive. That for me is the embodiment of resilience, to be able to pick yourself up and keep going.

2. Who do you want to read your book?

I would hope that anyone would want to read my book. Not just people who are grieving or bereaved or caring for someone with a disability. My whole point is that 12 years ago I was just an ordinary suburban woman and a series of events changed the course of my life immeasurable. It was how I responded to those events that I want people to read about and hopefully reflect on how they would react.

3. Would you do anything differently in relation to the book if you had your time again?

In terms of the decisions we made for our lives, Andy and I both agreed that we have done nothing differently. In terms of the book, I spent a lot of time trying to get a literary agent. I received lots of positive feedback but I'm an unknown quantity. I didn't want to self-publish as I had very little knowledge about publishing so the collaborative model offered by Hashtag Press was hugely interesting to me.

4. What do you hope the next year holds in store for you?

Next year is all about adjusting to this new chapter in my life. Adjusting to a life without Daisy and also trying to find a new role for myself now that I am not longer her full time carer. I enjoy writing and speaking and sharing my story and I hope to do a lot more. I plan to write a sequel in time which deals with child bereavement but also the adjustment I have had to make to becoming a single parent, on my own again after 27 years with Andy. My children are growing up and will fly the nest soon and I seem to have everything hitting at once so the next year is about re-grouping and finding out who I am now that I am no longer Andy's wife and Daisy's mum.

5. Do you think it's pointless making plans? Do you keep lists? How far ahead do you tend to plan things like holidays/meeting up with friends?

It was always really difficult to plan for events when Daisy was alive because we had no idea of the curve balls she might throw in our way. I think the most important thing is to have ideas about what you'd like to do but be flexible and agile to change path if your circumstances change. Don't be so set on following a specific path that you miss other opportunities and if things don't go according to plan know that you have to resilience to get through and keep going.

ESSENTIAL DETAILS

Title:Was This In The Plan?

Author:Stephanie Nimmo

Genre:Memoir, Family, Health

Publisher:Hashtag Press

Publication date:

September 12 2017

Availability:Paperback, eBook, International distribution

ISBN:9780995780620

Price: £12.99

Website:http://www.stephnimmo.com

Twitter:https://twitter.com/stephnimmo

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/wasthisintheplan

Press folder:http://bit.ly/2ncr8v9

Online profile:http://www.literallypr.com/public_relations/file/Stephanie-Nimmo.php

For more information, editorial opportunities, interview requests or review copies please get in touch withHelenLewis@LiterallyPR.com, DianaAshlee@LiterallyPR.comor

+44 (0) 7904801669