Product Description

His mother died of cancer in 1955. His father commited suicide shortly thereafter. Paddy Doyle was sentenced to an Irish district court to be detained in an industrial school for 11 years. He was four years old. This title is a testament of the institutionalized Ireland of only 25 years ago, as seen through the bewildered eyes of a child. During his detention, Paddy was viciously assaulted and sexually abused by his religious custodians, and within three years his experiences began to result in physical manifestations of trauma. He was taken one night to hospital and left there, never to see his custodians again. So began his long round of hospitals, mainly in the company of old dying men, while doctors tried to diagnose his condition. This period of his life, during which he was a constant witness to death, culminating in brain surgery at the age of 10 - by which time he had become permanently disabled. This title is the true story of a survivor, told with a lack of bitterness for one so shockingly and shamefully treated. In Paddy Doyle's own words: "It is about society's abdication of responsibility to a child. The fact that I was that child, and that the book is about my life, is largely irrelevant. The probability is that there were, and still are, thousands of 'me's'".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #154523 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

From the Back Cover
Paddy Doyle's mother died from cancer in 1955. His father committed suicide shortly afterwards. Paddy was sentenced in an Irish district court to be detained in an industrial school for eleven years. He was four years old.

This award-winning bestseller is a moving and terrifying testament of the institutionalised Ireland of only thirty-five years ago, seen through the bewildered eyes of a child. During his detention, Paddy was viciously assaulted and sexually abused by the nuns charged to care for him, and within three years his experiences began to result in physical manifestations of trauma. He was taken one night to hospital and left there, never to see his custodians again. This period of his life, during which he was a constant witness to death, culminated in brain surgery at the age of ten - by which time he had become permanently disabled.

This is the remarkable true story of a survivor, told with an extraordinary lack of bitterness. In Paddy Doyle's own words: 'It is about a society's abdication of responsibility to a child. The fact that I was that child, and that the book is about my life, is largely irrelevant. The probability is that there were, and still are, thousands of "me"s.'

About the Author
Paddy Doyle was born in Wexford in 1951. In 1974 he married and now lives in Dublin with his wife Eileen and their three children, Shane, Niall and Ronan. In 1983 he received the first Christy Brown Memorial Prize for literature. Shortly afterwards he resigned from his job in CIE and today conducts seminars and awareness projects for medical students in Trinity College, Dublin. He is currently involved with the trade unions in drawing up a bill of rights for the disabled. THE GOD SQUAD is his first book. It was a hardcover bestseller in Ireland, where it was originally published, and won the Sunday Tribune Arts Award for literature.

Customer Reviews

An excellent, if not sad, account of hardship...
It is very saddening to believe that not so very long ago such conditions existed that someone was made to feel ashamed, embarrassed and inadequate because of a condition far beyond their control, in what we believed to be a civilised society. Nevertheless an epic read which I found very difficult to put down, Well done, Mr. Doyle!!

If Memoirs Are The New History Books, Move Over Sam Pepys!
OK, I have to admit I've never read Pepys's Diary but I had to get your attention. Now that I have it, I kindly advise you to point and click your way into being the proud owner of this book. Paddy Doyle's inimitable narrative style presents a dark story in such a way that the reader is challenged not only to think about Mr. Doyle's own experiences - and the experiences of others like him - but also about the beauty of life itself and between the lines of the story itself is the urgent message to rush forward and embrace your life to the fullest extent no matter who you are or what you've suffered. This is a riveting read masterfully written and even in its darkest moments, finds humor and the triumph of good over evil. And yes, Mr. Doyle, a sequel would be nice. Some of us would like to know what happened to the main characters after the book ended!

Frightening that such things can happen....
I can't really add to the other reviews, except to say that Mr Doyle is clearly a man of great courage in adversity. The mistreatment he suffered and the lies he was forced to endure culminate in his disability which left me feeling cold, frightened and embarassed to be part of what I had foolishly thought was civilised post-War Western society.

Be shocked; be ready to learn; and hey - don't let it happen again!