Walking the Runway

One woman. One suitcase. One extraordinary journey.

What happens when you reach the top of your profession – and then lose everything?

Gabriella Somerville FRSA knows.

Release Date

January 2027

Genre

Memoir
Subgenres: Business Memoir • Inspirational Memoir • Women in Business • Aviation
Category: Non-Fiction → Memoir → Business / Entrepreneurship

Author

Gabriella Somerville FRSA

From starting as cabin crew at Virgin Atlantic, Gabriella rose to become the first female Vice President of Sales at VistaJet and the first woman to establish an exclusive aircraft distribution mandate directly with a manufacturer, culminating in one of the largest unit sales of its kind.

The media loved her. But was the aviation industry ready for a woman breaking into a world where the rules had long been written by men?

When a dispute over a global aircraft deal escalated into the courts of Rome, Gabriella found herself fighting not only for justice, but for the principle that women could challenge the status quo of an industry in which female representation at the highest levels remained extraordinarily low.

Betrayal. Legal battles. Profound personal loss. Six months in hospital. Six operations. And ultimately, the collapse of the business she had spent years building.

Gabriella found herself standing outside London’s RAF Club with two suitcases and twenty pounds to her name, but not without hope.

But this was not the end….

Walking the Runway is a candid and deeply personal story of ambition, success, failure, resilience and reinvention — and the lessons learned at both the top and the bottom.

But this is not simply a story about what happened.

Gabriella is still building.

Because sometimes the greatest challenge is not simply getting back up. It is learning to rest, recover, regain your position, and find the courage to re-enter the runway.

The next chapter is already being written.

From zero, back to the runway, and towards something bigger, a new vision built from the ashes, with renewed strength, purpose and a determination to leave a different kind of legacy in aviation.

For the entrepreneur who has everything to lose.
For the woman trying to break through a door that was never meant to open.
For the business leader facing an impossible decision.
And for anyone who has ever wondered how to keep going when there is nothing left.

Walking the Runway will take you through laughter and tears, extraordinary highs and devastating lows, moments of disbelief and moments that will leave you holding your breath….

Because the journey doesn’t end when you fall.
Sometimes, that is where the next chapter begins.

LAUNCH SCHEDULE

Be part of the journey.

Keep informed of upcoming launch events, book signings, keynote talks and exclusive announcements ahead of the January 2027 launch of Walking the Runway.