- Paperback: 223 pages
- Publisher: Mainstream Publishing; illustrated edition edition (Aug 16 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1840189681
- ISBN-13: 978-1840189681
- Product Dimensions: 23 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 322 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #315,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
Kathy O'Beirne's earliest memories are of being battered and sexually abused. Unable to confide in anyone about the beatings she regularly received from her father or about the boys who made her play dirty games, she became withdrawn and self-destructive, leading a psychiatrist to diagnose her as 'a child with a troublesome mind'. As a result, aged only eight, Kathy was removed from the family home and incarcerated in a series of institutions. In the first, a reformatory school run by a holy order on behalf of the Irish State, she was raped by a visiting priest. When she tried to get help, she was transferred to a psychiatric hospital, where the abuse continued, along with the administration of large amounts of drugs and electric shock treatment. At the age of twelve, Kathy was sent to a Magdalen laundry. These notorious workhouses operated in Ireland throughout the twentieth century and during that time thousands of young girls, some orphans, some pregnant and some considered 'at risk' in the community, were forced to slave in horrendous conditions. Locked away from their families and the outside world, many of the girls were cruelly punished and sexually abused by the staff or lay visitors. Kathy fell victim to one of these predators and gave birth to baby Annie just weeks before her fourteenth birthday. The little girl had a serious bowel condition but lived to the age of ten, providing the only light in Kathy's blighted life. After all that she has suffered, Kathy has now come forward to tell her harrowing story in the hope that more will be done to help survivors of institutional abuse. She recounts her tragic experiences in unflinching detail but what is most remarkable is the strength of character that shines through such a dark tale. It is this strength that has enabled her to survive and fired her continuing struggle for justice.
About the Author
Kathy O'Beirne has led the campaign for justice for Magdalen girls in Ireland for the past 11 years.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.6 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
PLEASE, PLEASE READ BEFORE PURCHASING., Mar 19 2011
By Anne Bonny - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Kathy's Story: A Childhood Hell Inside the Magdalen Laundries (Paperback)
Please, instead of reading this book, read this article that confirms the accusations that Kathy is a filthy liar.[...]
Kathy's family, people who worked at the Magdalene asylums, her former friends, and even former Magdalene "inmates" have all confirmed that Kathy was never even in one of these asylums, let alone abused there. Essentially she has stolen the life stories of battered women she interviewed, and combined and embellished them into a disgusting lie. Her descriptions of the place are inaccurate, there are no documents to show she was ever in an asylum (whereas there are documents showing she was in a normal school during those years), none to support her claims of having borne two children from sexual abuse, and her family showed a birth certificate that proved she was not adopted or even the age she claimed. She even accused a priest of abuse who had documented, severe rheumatoid arthritis from his early 20s and could not have possibly abused anyone!
You may think this will still be an interesting book, but honestly, the ONLY reason this woman is able to get away with this crap is that people keep buying the book. Please do the right thing and do NOT support her, as she ruined many lives and turned serious problems of other people into her own nutty drama in writing these utter lies.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Harrowing read, Aug 18 2005
By spideranansie - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Kathy's Story: A Childhood Hell Inside the Magdalen Laundries (Paperback)
This book made me really angry. It is an indictiment on how the neglect of the state allowed the church to exploit many young people and destoyed the lives of many children through reform school, psychiatric units as well as the Magdalene Laundries. How could they have gotten away with it? The most disgusting bit was when letters from Kathy's mother was with held from her by the nun in the reform school and only brought to light in a meeting 30 years after to throw her off balance. That was just callous and cruel. It strikes me how conveniently perpetrators of evil always manage to justify their acts by referring to religion, law, or 'good' when their actions lack humanity of any sort and only lead to the destruction of innocent lives. Kathy's personal strength in overcoming the odds and yet maintaining a loving, caring, empathetic core is remarkable, but what about others who are not able to find that strength within themselves? I hope that Kathy's case and that of many others get resolved soon so that these institutions and people can be publicly named and shamed and made to compensate for their horrendous abuse of power and the number of young lives they have ruined.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A hard read, but a good one., Aug 4 2005
By Rose Kiernan - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Kathy's Story: A Childhood Hell Inside the Magdalen Laundries (Paperback)
Ms. O'Beirne tells hre hautnting and horrific story through her eyes as a child and as an adult. The content can be very difficult to read, as she encountered continual abuse emotionally and physically. Her story is a compelling one, and I applaud her for her continued efforts to confront the people and agencies responsible for her torture. This book gives a detailed account of the extensive abuse, dismissal of each person/child as a valuable, precious being and the cover ups of the chuch and laundries. A very good book.
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