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

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But there were also the people – children, and adults, too – who were repelled by poverty. “Poverty has layers. We were probably the most extreme – no food, not washed, nits. Kids don’t want to play with you, so it’s horrible because not only are you suffering at home, I was also going to school and being on the outside. Sometimes, teachers would treat me that way as well, or expect me to perform in a way that was just beyond me because of what was going on at home.”

Now an award-winning lecturer whose work challenges barriers to education, Poor stands as a stirring argument for the importance of looking out for our kids' futures. Of giving them hope, practical support and meaningful opportunities.However, let’s not forget hard work. Katrina was a single mother, studying, working and still trying to hold her family together. This lady deserves our utmost respect. It brings to the forefront the struggles faced by those suffering from poverty and the services that are just not available to those in need anymore. As she says after the financial crash these services were the first to go and the lower classes were the worst affected. Katriona was born in Coventry to Irish parents. She grew up in dire poverty, became a mother at fifteen and ended up homeless. Moving to her father's native Dublin, Katriona was hopeful that a change of place would bring positive changes to her life. As she says herself, it turned out that "nothing would change in Dublin......I had come to Dublin and to change my life and simply replicated it".

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.The next couple of years were difficult, dealing not only with the trauma of her own childhood, but also with a baby. We normalise the struggle of life with a newborn for older, middle-class mothers, she points out, “but young mothers are punished for the same thing”. To her horror, O’Sullivan found the pattern of her childhood repeating itself: it was easy to forget the trauma of her life if she was out at pubs and clubs, drinking and taking drugs; desperate for love, she confused it with sex. Quotes like "Poor cuts through lots of jargon, words like disadvantaged, underprivileged, deprived or under class. Words that have their place but don't capture the visceral truth of what it is to grow up the way I did. The way thousands of children are growing up right now. O’Sullivan went on to achieve a first class honours degree in psychology and now works in Maynooth University breaking down barriers to education for marginalised girls. Poor is the moving, inspirational and brave story of a seven year old girl who needed love and care and found it with her teachers. Of a teenager whose English teacher believed she was fantastic. Of a young mother who had a caring nurse who encouraged and supported her. Of a woman who becomes a doctor of psychology and works to increase diversity in education. Most of the time being poor felt like a sodden blanket which was lying heavy across my shoulders dragging me down into dark waters"

Although she wouldn’t necessarily have classed herself as an addict – “I sometimes think: ‘Was it bad enough for me to own the same space that my parents did?’” – she could see the way she was going, and she wanted to stop. “I didn’t want that for my son, and that was horrific. I remember waking up to the fact, living in Birmingham in this council house, no carpet on the floor. I used to buy electric and gas keys on a Monday, and by Friday, it was gone, so it was cold. I remember thinking: ‘I am her, I’m my mam, and this beautiful boy deserves better.” Poor is the extraordinary story – moving, funny, brave, and sometimes startling – of how Katriona turned her life around. During her schooldays there had been teachers who looked out for her – beacons of stability in a chaotic childhood. They planted seeds of self-belief. In Dublin when she sought help, she found mentors whose encouragement revived that self-belief. She got her act together, got a flat and a job as a cleaner, and got into Trinity College. Today Dr Katriona O’Sullivan is an award-winning lecturer whose work explores barriers to education. Throughout her life she encountered people who gave her hope by showing her she was worth more, that she deserved more and therefore raising her self-belief. Once such teacher Mrs Atkinson had a fresh towel, facecloth and clean underwear ready for her every morning before school to wash and change. It was this kindness and support from that teacher and many more that got her where she is today. An important contribution to our understanding of poverty and its impact' - Sinéad Gibney, Business Post This book was recommended to me by my line manager as the book for anyone who works in support or services.

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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.” 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. 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.