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

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They helped with finances, books, laptops and also gave hugs, relationship advice and so much more. TAP wasn’t just about education, it was about belonging, belief, and care. I grew there and started to believe in me. My essays were good and my work got better. I learned what I liked, what I hated, what I needed to improve. I learned that I was good enough. I still doubt that though. I learned so much from my degree. I learned about how a child develops, about the power of attachment and love. I learned how to think critically and how to be a better student. But, while I am outgoing, I didn’t mix well. In her newly published memoir ‘Poor’ she explains how along the way some teachers tried to help the bright student. However by 15 O’Sullivan was pregnant and homeless. The young mother struggled with substance abuse, repeating the debilitating patterns of her own childhood. She moved to Dublin aged 20 after her parents left England.

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

The results will be posted online in June, if you guys are thinking about using this degree for anything decent in the future a 2.1 or above is your only hope.” I put my head down and work harder than I have worked before. If I fail at this I am f**ked, all of this will have been for nothing. Clearly, O’Sullivan didn’t want a world where she would be the only one that found solid ground. We see this in her efforts to place her experience within her parents’ experiences and her parents’ experiences within their histories. O’Sullivan expertly gives us an insight into the genuine harm of her parents’ addictions but by no means defines them by it. She beautifully and lovingly tells the story of two whole people. Two people who struggled and fought, who lived a life shrouded in pain and poverty, but also in song, loyalty and books. By the end of third year I had found my feet. While I would never fully belong in TCD I knew by then I was good enough. I got to know all the catering staff, all the cleaners and all the builders during my nine years as a student and three years as staff. These were and still are my people. As a research student, I began to flourish and by the end of third year I was achieving high 2.1s for all my work and felt confident I would pass my degree. At the end of the book she makes a challenging assertion. That the likes of the Trinity Access Programme is only aimed at the super-brainy of the poorer classes, like that author herself. (She didn't make those claims about herself. They're mine). The people who are only middle of the road good, AND poor, there's a shoulder shrug. Middle of the road good from middle class families will thrive and survive, but in the TAP they only push the boat out for the super-dupers.

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Katriona's book is a must-read for anyone interested in education or social work, for anyone who works with children, for everyone. Ignore the housework, any and all responsibilities and read 'Poor'. There are no doctors, lawyers or graduates in my recent family … Katriona O’Sullivan PhD wouldn’t have really fitted on my social welfare card or my lone parent’s benefit book. Teenager Katriona dropped out of school, despite being academically bright, as she dealt with a crisis pregnancy, homelessness and isolation. I spent the whole year fighting with our maths teacher but if I wanted to choose psychology for my degree I had to do higher level maths in TAP and this scuppered me. But I found my way. My friend Liviu – another mature student who was excellent at Maths – tutored me and reminded me it was going to be okay. Being able to hear Katriona tell her story in her audiobook, in her own voice brought me to tears several times.

From homeless and expecting at 15 to a lecturer at Trinity

As I look around this feeling mounts. They all look so confident. They dress weird too, like they have money but no money. Messy clothes that are designer brands. I have on fake tan and a hun-bun. I don’t belong here.I was elected class rep and became the go-to person for the students. I started to make friends. I met some really lovely people. I learned that life was hard for all of us. Amy, who was so kind to me, was the star of our year. I learned a lot from her. I discovered people who have had privileged lives are lovely too. They were not all judging me, or if they were, they did it politely and hid it well. 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. 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.” The individual, she says, “is small in the decisions of their life, and we don’t like that because it suggests we’re powerless. But choice is a myth that’s perpetuated by the middle classes – only a few people really can choose.”

Poor - Penguin Books UK

At the time, the young mother was raising her young son alone all the while daring to hope her life might eventually take a different turn. 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. 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.

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Before she returned to education and became an award-winning lecturer, Katriona O’Sullivan was a cleaner at Connolly Station in Dublin. Coming from poverty dreams aren't sky high, most of the time they barely go past the ceiling of a council house. And being 'better' meant having a job or not selling drugs

Katriona O’Sullivan: What will you do to change Poor by Katriona O’Sullivan: What will you do to change

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 revitalised those seeds in adulthood, leading her to become an award-winning academic whose work challenges barriers to education. Despite my family drama, and the regular hunger pains, I was bright and vivacious. I loved school, I loved to learn, I read avidly. I was excellent at all sports and was, and still am, extremely determined. But when you live in a family that does not aspire to much, and you are surrounded by people who cannot see past your disadvantage, it’s really hard to dream big. I knew no one who went to university or college and dreamed of being somewhere else or someone else. I didn’t dream of a university education or travelling the world – my dreams only stretched as far as being on TV or becoming a pop star. For most of my life I felt like I was at the bottom of a trench. The shame of poverty made me feel like I was wading through deep water alone., but the crucial thing I have learned while writing my story is that in tough times I was being carried. I didn't climb out the trench myself. I was pulled out. Of course I worked hard but without the network of community groups and government schemes, the funding, the trinity access programme, the support offered from colleagues and the state and friends there is not a chance I would have made it af all" There's a very striking, moving scene early on in the book and it was a real take-home point from the book for me. A kindly teacher, Mrs Arkinson, took an interest in Katriona from a very young age and recognised the fact that Katriona came from a home where she was utterly neglected. Mrs Arkinson gave Katriona clean underwear and clothes, and a towel, and showed the young girl how to wash herself.

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Growing up in a working class community in Coventry to Irish parents, Katriona O'Sullivan dealt with far more trauma and poverty than any child should ever know. In her book Poor, Katriona speaks about her hardship growing up as a child of parents who were drug addicts, and how ofttimes it was school and kind teachers that first taught her that she deserved more than what she had, and instilled a love of learning and education within her. The @kildarereadersfestival hosted a talk with Katriona last night @riverbankartscentreie and she spoke about her book, her life now and her family. One take-home point from that for me was that children in poverty need more than just 'hard work' to make their way out into a better life. What use is hard work at school if you're not eating dinner at home? What use is 'hard work' if your parents' main priority at that time is drugs or alcohol? What use is 'hard work' if no one cares enough to keep you clean and wash your clothes?