Hilda was born in Perth, Scotland. After graduating from Edinburgh University she started training to become an actuary. Three months later she decided that not even the prospect of belonging to what was then the highest paid profession in the country could induce her to carry on in a career to which she was so congenitally unsuited.

Subsequent jobs included oil industry analyst in London, artists’ model in Paris, technical translator in Baghdad, charity worker in Zanzibar and journalist in Ho Chi Minh City. In her last professional incarnation she spent five years in Khartoum as director of an educational charity.

A travel writer who engages with controversial situations and works on the principle that ‘an enemy is someone whose story hasn’t been heard’.

Seeking Sanctuary

Seeking Sanctuary tells the stories of a group of Western Muslim converts who found liberation in Sudan. They describe their spiritual and physical journeys from one way of life to another. But most of all, they provide us with insights that challenge lazy prejudice about Islam, by providing a striking counterpoint to fears about fundamentalism, extremism, and religious hostility. It is a stunning collection of intimate portraits and a wonderful series of human stories about adversity, courage, and life change.

Prickly Pears of Palestine

The Palestinian Israeli conflict is one of the most widely reported and long standing struggles in the world yet misunderstanding is rife about the most basic issues for many. Hilda Reilly goes to live among many “ordinary” people, living under extraordinary circumstances. She brings us an insight to the people behind the politics.