Poor

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

'We love a rags-to-riches story, and we love to see someone triumph through sheer determination. But the story is rarely that simple. My story isn't, anyway.'

As the middle of five kids growing up in dire poverty, the odds were low on Katriona O'Sullivan making anything of her life. When she became a mother at 15 and ended up homeless, what followed were five years of barely coping.

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 revived those seeds in adulthood.

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.

'One of the best [books] I have read about the complexities of poverty . . . one of the most remarkable people you will ever meet' Guardian

'An amazing story . . . moving, uplifting, brave, heroic, shocking at times' Nuala McGovern, Woman's Hour, BBC

'[Poor] is moving, funny, brave and original - just like the author . . . an absolutely incredible read' Roisin Ingle, Irish Times' Women's Podcast


©2023 Katriona O'Sullivan (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

  • Full of insight into a life lived right up against the boundaries placed on it by poverty . . . so important . . . we’d highly recommend

    Off Air with Jane and Fi, Times Radio

  • I read [Poor] in one sitting I found it so compelling. An amazing story . . . moving, uplifting, brave, heroic

    Woman's Hour, BBC

  • Moving, funny, brave and original – just like the author . . . absolutely incredible

    Irish Times Women's Podcast

  • One of the best books I have ever read about the complexities of poverty . . . one of the most remarkable people you will ever meet

    Guardian

  • One of the most important books I have ever read . . . a beautiful telling of determination despite the odds

    Irish Times

  • [A] story for the unheard and unseen that is fearless, funny and searingly honest

    Adil Ray OBE

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