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

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If I was a student who could be lectured by her, I would feel beyond privileged ... I really do recommend the book. Jane Garvey, Off Air with Jane and Fi, Times Radio 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. Quinlan A;O'Brien KK;Galvin R;Hardy C;McDonnell R;Joyce D;McDowell RD;Aherne E;Keogh C;O'Sullivan K;Fahey T; (2018) 'Quantifying patient preferences for symptomatic breast clinic referral: a decision analysis study'. BMJ Open, . [DOI] O'Sullivan K;Boland F;Reulbach U;Motterlini N;Kelly D;Bennett K;Fahey T; (2015) 'Antidepressant prescribing in Irish children: secular trends and international comparison in the context of a safety warning'. . [DOI] It is also for those who never known such misery, to refrain from judgement, to understand what happens to people in these situations, how they got there, the consequences and the ineffectiveness of today's government policies in identifying the cause and applying appropriate solutions.

I learned so much from my degree. I learned about how a child develops, about the power of attachment and love. I learned how to think critically and how to be a better student. But, while I am outgoing, I didn’t mix well. Full of insight into a life lived right up against the boundaries placed on it by poverty . . . so important . . . we'd highly recommend Fi Glover, Off Air with Jane and Fi, Times Radio O’Sullivan K.;McGrane A.;Clark S.;Marshall K. (2020) 'Exploring the Impact of Home-Schooling on the Psychological Wellbeing of Irish Families During the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic: A Qualitative Study Protocol'. The International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19 . [DOI] [Full-Text] When the letter arrived offering a place on the access programme my dad got it framed. I felt happy, sad, scared and hopeful. But who would help me, who would look after my son? My friends were supportive and one of them told me about the Vinnies (St Vincent DePaul) – a group who could help people like me. I called the number, trying to explain without sounding desperate. They came over and were kind. A little posh, but they seemed genuine. 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.Dr Katriona O’Sullivan: ‘Biology, physics, chemistry, philosophy, psychology – I loved everything.’ But they have one thing wrong. I don’t think I’m the only one. Every single one of us O’Sullivans is better than what we came from. We are clever, funny, spirited people. We deserved more. O’Sullivan, Katriona and Boland, Fiona and Reulbach, Udo and Motterlini, Nicola and Kelly, Dervla and Bennett, Kathleen and Fahey, Tom (2015) 'Antidepressant prescribing in Irish children: secular trends and international comparison in the context of a safety warning'. 15 (1). Addiction, too, is seen as a personal failing rather than a complex issue. “There’s nobody I know who is addicted to drugs who planned that,” says O’Sullivan. “Especially for women with addiction, we do not provide enough support and services. My mother was judged so harshly, more than my dad, for being an addict. We need to look at how we moralise around addiction, and poverty.”

Those first few months in Trinity proper were hard. I felt lost, the psychology class was small which meant I couldn’t hide. I was sitting with middle-class kids who had got around 580 points in their Leaving Cert and I felt like a failure. Two years before I started my degree I had been working as the dinner lady in the Institute of Education. higher education, with students who have entered university through the Higher Education Access Route (HEAR). TheThis 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 revived those seeds in adulthood. This book is a compelling read that proves both difficult to put down and challenging to read. Katriona O'Sullivan pours her heart out to the reader, using her memoir as a cathartic medium to elucidate and comprehend her upbringing and early life, enabling her to move forward and embrace her own life to the best of her abilities. From an educational and policy perspective, it is essential to grasp the hardships some individuals face and the seemingly insurmountable obstacles they encounter. We formed groups, the young matures and the old matures, the Gothy kids and the Tallaght heads. I didn’t really get into a group, I had no time to socialise and had to care for my son on my own. I also felt awkward and still felt ashamed. I don’t know why but I’ve always felt like this so making friends, trusting people, didn’t happen easily. Later, I’d refuse to go on access visits; I remember crying and saying I didn’t want to. I just wanted peace, I wanted safety and the rights to my own body. My mum didn’t provide that. Our life with her was full of mayhem and pain. Poor] is moving, funny, brave and original - just like the author . . . an absolutely incredible read' Roisin Ingle, Irish Times' Women's Podcast

What I found most refreshing was that Katriona didn’t claw her way out of her council estate with the aim of becoming a middle class suburban housewife.

Her mum probably stole it,” I heard another one of them say. I didn’t care much. I was too busy thinking about what was for dinner at the children’s home that night. 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'. The remarkable story of her ascent from the trenches [of poverty] and her determination to inspire others . . . a vivid retelling of Katriona flourishing, despite her beginnings BBC News West Midlands Join the author of Poor; Katriona O'Sullivan in conversation with Lynn Ruane on the 25th May 2023. Iontas Theatre, North Campus, Maynooth University. O’Sullivan was cleaning toilets in the train station when a chance encounter with an old friend on O’Connell Street changed the course of her life. The friend, also a young single mother, told O’Sullivan how she was studying law in Trinity College.