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

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Thinking of poverty, we picture barefoot children in rags on the street but for me poor was also a feeling like I had no worth. She loved her parents, she says, and when they weren’t addicted to drugs or alcohol, they could be wonderful. During her schooldays there had been teachers who looked out for her – beacons of stability in a chaotic childhood. Through unwavering honesty, O’Sullivan depicts her turbulent, traumatic childhood and teenage years and her constant battle in developing self-worth while living in the most difficult of circumstances. At it’s core this is a cautionary tale about the effects of austerity, the class system in the UK and the horrifying generational impact of addiction.

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. 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. During her schooldays there had been teachers who looked out for her - beacons of stability in a chaotic childhood. When she became a mother at 15 and ended up homeless, what followed were five years of barely coping. I was particularly intrigued by her depiction of how poverty and inequality are instantly recognised in Britain, while in Ireland, we tend to obscure the issue by pretending it is less significant, but it exists here too.This was both heartbreaking, inspiring and just wonderful to read and one that I will not forget in a hurry. I loved meeting smart, successful women who were very grounded in working-class culture and identity, and I knew I was in the presence of someone I could learn from.

There were people, she says, “trying to keep me hopeful, but it’s very hard to battle against a lifetime of poverty and belief within a family.I was hungry for food, but also love, care and nourishment”, she says reflecting on her early years. There’s loss that goes with not fitting any more with your family and friends, and not being able to go back and be at ease in whatever shit you were living in.