Poor

Author: Katriona OSullivan

United Kingdom, Great Britain | Ireland | c 1945 to c 2000 (Post-war period) | Memoirs | Poverty & unemployment | Illness & addiction: social aspects | Social mobility | Social classes | Moral & social purpose of education | Organization & management of education

Published on 18^th April 2024 by Penguin Books Ltd in the United Kingdom.

Paperback / softback | 304 pages
197mm x 127mm | 215g

The No. 1 BestsellerBiography of the Year, Irish Book Awards 2023The Last Word Listeners Choice Award, Irish Book Awards 2023One of the best [books] I have read about the complexities of poverty . . . one of the most remarkable people you will ever meet GuardianLike young girls everywhere Katriona O’Sullivan grew up bright, enthusiastic, curious. But she was also surrounded by abject poverty and chaos, and after she became pregnant and homeless at 15, what followed was five years of barely surviving. Yet today Katriona is an award-winning academic whose work explores barriers to education for girls like her.

What set Katriona on this unexpected path were the mentors and supporters who truly saw her. The teachers who showed her how to wash in the school toilets or turned up at her door to convince her to sit at least one GCSE. The community worker who encouraged her to apply for training schemes. The friend who introduced Katriona to Trinity College’s access program while she was a cleaner. Simple acts that would help her turn her life around.

Told with warmth, clarity and compassion – compassion for her parents, for her younger self, for others – Poor is both an astonishing personal testimony and an impassioned plea for the future of our children. ‘Powerful – Katriona is a legend’ Barry Keoghan‘Raw, passionate and resolutely honest – I’ll never forget it’ Annie MacFull of insight . . . so important Fi Glover, Times Radio I read poor in one sitting I found it so compelling . . . moving, uplifting, brave, heroic Nuala McGovern, Womans Hour, BBC Radio FourMoving, funny, brave and original - just like the author . . . absolutely incredible Roísín Ingle, Irish Times Womens Podcast‘One of the books of the year’ Patrick Kielty, Late Late Show, RTÉ OneOne of the most important books I have ever read … a beautiful telling of determination despite the odds Lynn Ruane, Irish Times Fearless, funny and searingly honest Adil Ray OBERaw and remarkable Irish Independent A book of empowerment and hope Patricia Scanlan ‘Remarkable . . . a vivid retelling of Katriona flourishing, despite her beginnings’ BBC News West Midlands