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In celebration of LucyGives, Honorary Fellow Sophie Hannah discussed how our understanding of what's achievable is often false and limiting.

Have you ever been ticked off, or put in your place, for having a too-big or too-hard-to-achieve ambition or goal? Ever been told, 'Well, I'm sure we'd all like X, Y or Z, but it's just not realistic, is it?' Sophie talked about why and how our understanding of what's achievable is so often false and unnecessarily limiting, and why there's nothing to lose and everything to gain when you aim for the currently-impossible.

About the speaker

Sophie Hannah is a Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling writer of crime fiction, published in forty-nine languages and fifty-one territories. Her books have sold millions of copies worldwide. In 2014, with the blessing of Agatha Christie’s family and estate, Sophie published a new Poirot novel, The Monogram Murders, which was a bestseller in more than fifteen countries. She has since published three more Poirot novels all of which were instant Sunday Times Top Ten bestsellers and international bestsellers. In 2013, Sophie’s novel The Carrier won the Crime Thriller of the Year Award at the Specsavers National Book Awards, and last year Sophie's standalone thriller Haven't They Grown was a Top 5 Sunday Times bestseller and a Richard and Judy Book Club pick.

Sophie has recently helped to create a Master’s Degree in Crime and Thriller Writing at the University of Cambridge, of which she is course director. She is also the founder of the Dream Author coaching programme for writers. She lives with her husband, children and dog in Cambridge, where she is an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College.

Photo credit: Onur Pinar

What is LucyGives?

LucyGives Giving Week (25 April – 1 May 2022) is a 7-day campaign for a better, fairer future. Driven by the College community’s support in LucyGives 2020, Lucy Cavendish is forging ahead with its pioneering vision, welcoming the most socio-economically diverse year group admitted by any Cambridge college this academic year. But this is just the start.

Your support during LucyGives 2022 will help realise our ambitions to achieve a UK student population which is broadly representative of society by 2025, and to increase numbers of talented students from under-served communities across the globe. LucyGives will support the brightest minds from all backgrounds, enabling them to access a world-class university education and to graduate with the skills and confidence to make a positive impact in society. Through LucyGives, we will together ensure our College and its global mission remain at the vanguard of change at the University of Cambridge.

To get involved and show your support please visit the LucyGives website

LucyGives Giving Week 2022