Poor: Grit, courage, and the life-changing value of self-belief

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The @kildarereadersfestival hosted a talk with Katriona last night @riverbankartscentreie and she spoke about her book, her life now and her family. One take-home point from that for me was that children in poverty need more than just 'hard work' to make their way out into a better life. What use is hard work at school if you're not eating dinner at home? What use is 'hard work' if your parents' main priority at that time is drugs or alcohol? What use is 'hard work' if no one cares enough to keep you clean and wash your clothes? The individual, she says, “is small in the decisions of their life, and we don’t like that because it suggests we’re powerless. But choice is a myth that’s perpetuated by the middle classes – only a few people really can choose.”

Katriona O’Sullivan: ‘I remember cleaning the toilets going Katriona O’Sullivan: ‘I remember cleaning the toilets going

It takes a special person to see beyond the wrongs that one has endured and then use one’s wounds as the basis to create something big. As you follow the story beyond O’Sullivan’s early years, she keeps doing big things: overcoming big hurdles and traumas, achieving huge dreams, and creating changes and challenges to the status quo. I think O’Sullivan would have made it anyway, but you can’t ignore the moments along the way that helped. Katriona's book is a must-read for anyone interested in education or social work, for anyone who works with children, for everyone. Ignore the housework, any and all responsibilities and read 'Poor'. I told everyone, I was like a child. I knew it wasn’t very humble but I had worked my ass off to get there and I felt so proud of myself and my family. I was offered a PhD studentship that summer and began my PhD studies in the TCD psychology department pretty much straight away. Those first few months in Trinity proper were hard. I felt lost, the psychology class was small which meant I couldn't hide Why do you want to do this course?” the interviewer asks me. He seems nice but I’m sure he can see through me. “I want to change my life,” I reply. “I feel like I’m missing something.” He smiles and I’m sure I’ve said something wrong. “Do you read books,” he asks. “Yes,” I say. “I have always loved to read”. He smiles again and makes a note.Poor is this story, the story of how a once-bright student found herself on the wrong path and how, through sheer grit, determination and bravery, turned her life around thanks to an unexpected encounter with the Trinity Access Programme as an adult.

Raised by addicts, abused, neglected, broke: how Katriona O

It was 2011 when I first met the now-published author Katriona O’Sullivan. She stood at the top of the lecture hall in Trinity College Dublin in a beige cardigan down to her knees, blue denim jeans and a pair of runners. She spoke about addiction, and I couldn’t quite tell if she had an accent like mine because of her English twang. O’Sullivan has dedicated her life’s work to changing society for other women like her, but she has rightly dedicated this memoir to herself The book helped. She likes herself now. “I think I’ve always liked myself, though. What’s really sad about growing up is that I can clearly remember being a young girl, alive to the world, inquisitive and bright, like all kids are but, unfortunately, I was born in this community where I wasn’t given an opportunity to flourish.” She feels now, nearly four decades on, closer to that girl, before the weight of neglect, predatory men, fear and low expectations crushed her. “Like, I’m alive again.” Katriona survives because she met a few good people along life’s path that turn out to be pivotal. These people saw her love for learning and inspired her but it was down to Katriona 100% to walk a different path to the one being modelled by her parents and maintained by the system. They helped with finances, books, laptops and also gave hugs, relationship advice and so much more. TAP wasn’t just about education, it was about belonging, belief, and care. I grew there and started to believe in me. My essays were good and my work got better. I learned what I liked, what I hated, what I needed to improve. I learned that I was good enough. I still doubt that though.A really thought-provoking and worthwhile read. Thank you so much @penguinbooksireland for the #gifted copy. Highly recommended.

Katriona O’Sullivan: What will you do to change Poor by Katriona O’Sullivan: What will you do to change

This book will make you aware of the privilege that most of us were brought up with and took for granted… even joked about: mothers interrupting play and calling us home for a hot dinner every day, enduring a weekly bath and being sent to school in starched clean clothes, having a routine and a quite house to sleep in at night… and not wake up in a drug den with a stranger on the couch. So much of what happened to Katriona O’Sullivan should NOT have happened but it did. She is a real life Shuggie Bain. We aren’t just one thing, good or bad. This book has no absolutes. Instead, there is an array of moments when decisions were made out of necessity or survival, and beneath that, survival was a deep love and connection between O’Sullivan and her parents. O’Sullivan pushes us past the addiction and the difficult moments and forces us to confront the humanity of the people at the core of this story. The book delivers a powerful message to society about how we treat those who struggle with chronic addiction. She wants the reader to see them, and we do. Poor is not only Katriona's story, but is also her impassioned argument for the importance of looking out for our kids' futures. Of giving them hope, practical support and meaningful opportunities. Amazing read by an amazing woman. Some parts were absolutely gut-wrenching; really brought a tear to my eye. The fortitude she had to get through what she did amazed me, and to get to where she is today even more so. However, as Katriona herself points out, she didn't make it out alone, there were numerous people along the way who helped her up, as well as programmes and social investment schemes that paved the way. Now all those schemes are gone at a time when we need them more than ever. There must be so many like her out there, struggling with abuse, addiction, terrible parents, with no-one to see them as they really are. Katriona O’Sullivan: ‘I sat drinking in the knowledge, and for the first time in my life I felt alive’ ]Would she be hungry that day? Would she have to tend to another overdose in the household? Would the kids be able to see the shame that followed at her heels every morning? Would her Da, who she adores, give up the smokes and the drugs and save himself? If he couldn’t save himself, who would save O’Sullivan, and what would their fate be? This is the extraordinary story - moving, funny, brave, and sometimes startling - of how Katriona turned her life around. How the seeds of self-belief planted by teachers in childhood stayed with her. How she found mentors whose encouragement revitalised those seeds in adulthood, leading her to become an award-winning academic whose work challenges barriers to education.