I met Sonya in a cafe in my first week at Edinburgh University. We drank hot chocolate that day, laughed and cried sharing life stories, as if we’d known each other for years already- that’s what Sonya was like. We have been friends ever since. She was a loyal and wonderful friend, a truly exceptional, gorgeous human. She had an unfair amount of bad luck in her life, even a small part of what she coped with would have overwhelmed most people long ago, but Sonya was amazingly resilient. Perhaps because despite the blows fate dealt her she also had so much love to give, so much compassion and interest in others. I will miss our conversations sharing confidences and lifes highs and lows. Sonya was a big part of our family, we all loved and will remember her always. Lizzie, Bob and Daisy