During her schooldays there had been teachers who looked out for her - beacons of stability in a chaotic childhood. At secondary school, it was another teacher, Mr Pickering, who reached her; he saw in O’Sullivan someone who was bright and loved reading (he brought her Jane Austen and John Steinbeck to read). How much courage, strength, fortitude and pure determination must it have taken to get where she is today? As the middle of five kids growing up in dire poverty, the odds were low on Katriona O'Sullivan making anything of her life. Poor is this story, the story of how a once-bright student found herself on the wrong path and how, through sheer grit, determination and bravery, turned her life around thanks to an unexpected encounter with the Trinity Access Programme as an adult.

She loved her parents, she says, and when they weren’t addicted to drugs or alcohol, they could be wonderful.Mrs Arkinson gave Katriona clean underwear and clothes, and a towel, and showed the young girl how to wash herself. A beautifully narrated biographic detailing the harsh realities of growing up engulfed by addiction from every angle. This is the extraordinary story - moving, funny, brave, and sometimes startling - of how Katriona turned her life around.

No-one goes to school and thinks, you know what I’m going to do, I’m going to clean toilets for the rest of my life”.Poor by Katriona O’Sullivan is out today and, because I am so far behind on my reviews, this will have to serve as both a synopsis of my thoughts and a very well-deserved “yay it’s been published! 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.