Topics covered : Poverty, heroin addiction, neglect, abuse, childhood rape, dysfunction, shame, positive influences, kindness, breaking negative cycles, therapy,  recovery, attachment, opportunities, motherhood, education, academia, love, compassion, forgiveness, healing.   

Please read the full list of topics covered before you listen.

I speak to the phenomenal Dr. Katriona O’Sullivan and it's an eye opening and challenging conversation at times but I highly recommend you stay with it until the end.

Katriona lives in Blanchardstown in Dublin and is married to Dave and she has 3 boys, John who’s 30, Seán who’s 18, and Tadhg who’s 15 and she’s also a proud grandmother.

She is a senior lecturer in Maynooth University in the department of Psychology and is the author of bestselling memoir ‘Poor’.

Katriona’s childhood growing up in Coventry was often chaotic; as one of 5 kids to Irish parents living in a home shaped by heroin addiction, she experienced extreme trauma from an early age, which included being raped as a 7 year old and being pregnant and homeless, as a teenager.

In this conversation she speaks about the extreme neglect she experienced in childhood, the people who were a positive force in her life, the importance of opportunities and education, and the power of healing.

Book – ‘Poor’ is available in all good bookshops and online and is also available as an audio book.

If you’re a fan of my pod, please follow, rate and review in all the usual places. And thanks, as always, for your support of Ready to be Real.

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