When asked by The Guardian what her “greatest fear” is, Penny replied: “It was reading out loud, but no longer. (I am dyslexic.)”
She went on to explain how it was a nudge from Sir Rod that helped her face the issue head-on. The 54-year-old continued: “I was encouraged by my husband to do a speech for the Royal National Institute of Blind People, which helped me gain my confidence, and the fear disappeared.”
The model recently shared an Instagram post inside a recording studio as she prepared to release an audiobook version of her autobiography Someone Like Me.
She said: “Well, here I am at the RNIB [Royal National Institute of Blind People] Talking Books recording studios. I am recording my audio of my autobiography, Someone Like Me, that is out in physical form very soon, this September 25th.”
Penny added: “It's been a really daunting task recording the audio, mostly because I’m dyslexic, and the very idea of reading – particularly reading out loud – has always been a really scary prospect for me.
“It certainly made me realise that it’s a different skill set altogether, delivering the words almost as if it’s a performance to an audience. I have really enjoyed it, and it’s really helped me dig even deeper into some of my stories that go from childhood all the way up to today.”
Penny and Rod have been together for more than two decades now. In her book, she discusses how Rod, 80, quit drugs, made a U-turn on not having children, and even got down on his “dodgy” knee to pop the question in 2005.
Two years later the pair married in Portofino, Italy. They returned to the picturesque European nation earlier this year to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary.
The couple took a nostalgic trip from Paris to Portofino on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Sharing pictures from the trip on social media, Penny wrote: “Entering a bygone era @vsoetrain from Paris where we got engaged to Portofino where we got married 18 years ago, it’s totally magical @sirrodstewart xxxx.”
Rod addressed their marriage last year. He said: “Penny and I could not be more in love with each other after 27 glorious years.”
