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Poor by Katriona O'Sullivan
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Poor

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Narrator Katriona O'Sullivan

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Length 6 hours 48 minutes
Language English
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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


ยฉ2023 Katriona O'Sullivan (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Dr Katriona O'Sullivan was born in Coventry to Irish parents. In 1998, at 20, she moved from Birmingham to Dublin and subsequently enrolled in the Trinity College access programme. She went on to gain a PhD in psychology from Trinity and joined its staff. She now works as a senior lecturer in Digital Skills in Maynooth University's Department of Psychology. She has worked with policy-makers to develop strategies around education and inclusion, and has been an invited speaker at the UN, the World Education Forum, the European Gender Action Workshop on Women and Digitalization. Most recently, the programme she leads to improve working class girls' access to education in STEM subjects won the Most Impactful Initiative award at the Women in Tech Europe Awards in Amsterdam. She is married with three children and lives in Dublin. Poor is her first book.

Dr Katriona O'Sullivan was born in Coventry to Irish parents. In 1998, at 20, she moved from Birmingham to Dublin and subsequently enrolled in the Trinity College access programme. She went on to gain a PhD in psychology from Trinity and joined its staff. She now works as a senior lecturer in Digital Skills in Maynooth University's Department of Psychology. She has worked with policy-makers to develop strategies around education and inclusion, and has been an invited speaker at the UN, the World Education Forum, the European Gender Action Workshop on Women and Digitalization. Most recently, the programme she leads to improve working class girls' access to education in STEM subjects won the Most Impactful Initiative award at the Women in Tech Europe Awards in Amsterdam. She is married with three children and lives in Dublin. Poor is her first book.

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Reviews

If I was a student who could be lectured by her, I would feel beyond privileged ... I really do recommend the book. Just finished this brilliant book ... it strikes at the heart of the damage we as a society are doing to children living in poverty. One of the best books I have ever read about the complexities of poverty . . . one of the most remarkable people you will ever meet Full of insight into a life lived right up against the boundaries placed on it by poverty . . . so important . . . we'd highly recommend Moving, funny, brave and original - just like the author . . . absolutely incredible One of the most important books I have ever read . . . a beautiful telling of determination despite the odds Raw and remarkable An important contribution to our understanding of poverty and its impact They should put it on the leaving cert . . . an extraordinary book Absolutely brilliant. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is, as far as I'm concerned, the book of the year! A fascinating story of overcoming great adversity, so well told 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 I read [Poor] in one sitting I found it so compelling. An amazing story . . . moving, uplifting, brave, heroic An incredible read Katriona has taken her life and turned it into a call for action. She has given us all of her in her radically honest memoir and all who read it must meet that honesty with action. Poor is a book that can change society, and we must all level up to change it with her. [A] story for the unheard and unseen that is fearless, funny and searingly honest Phenomenal A book of empowerment and hope Expand reviews
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