Ahead of the launch of her new novel, Sophie White talks about how frightening it can be to live with mental illness, why writing is a vocation, and how she blends light and darkness in her work
“You know those school reports that were like, ‘Yeah, she could be brilliant but…’ That was me.” Photo: Evan Doherty
On Sophie White’s first day at the National College of Art and Design, she had a lecture. “It wasn’t the kind of course with a lot of lectures,” she smiles, tucking a marshmallow-hued bang behind her ears.
“Everything was practical. But this was one where they got us all in a room and went around asking us why we liked to make art.” White had never considered why she liked to make art, or why she had directed her entire life towards this purpose. “I was so nervous but, in the end, I said that I liked being able to tell stories beyond words,” she says, solemnly. “Which is really ironic now…” she adds, masking a self-deprecating laugh.