The Singing Warrior - Finding Happiness After a Life Filled with Pain and Abuse [Paperback]

I bought The Singing Warrior for a relaxing trip I was making. I thought I would take a peak beforehand so I opened the book and could not put it down. It is a compelling read. I guess I will have to sort another book for my trip!

Previous reviews adequately explain the story line so I won't go into that.

Words fail me in describing the true extent of this book. As I read I could feel Niamh's pain right down into the very pit of my stomach. This book is very powerful. It is inspirational. It is a beacon of light to those who feel they are lost or abandoned. Niamh's strength to keep going and to eventually come into her power is remarkable.

It is a must read especially if you feel your world is not a happy place because it shows that if you truly seek happiness you will find it.

Thank you Niamh for sharing some of your life's experiences so that others may learn - that's of course if they choose to.

I have had the fortune of meeting Niamh a few times and actually the first time we met she was singing! Niamh is an extremely warm and vivacious individual and I knew I was going to enjoy reading her book, recognising a born storyteller instantly. However I was not expecting to be gripped by her story so much that I stayed up late into the night voraciously reading it, finishing it in one sitting. This book does detail terrible things but that isn't really what I took from it. There are so many simple issues dealt with so beautifully in this book, like the relationship between mother and daughter, both Niamh's relationship with her own mother and her role as mother and her relationship with her daughter. This book gives great insight into human nature and relationships in general, with a particular Irish context, though such insights are universal, that I could greatly related to. Also from the point of view of a young woman embarking on her journey into the world, her experiences resonate with you. There is a distinct positivity flowing from this book that undoubtedly reflects the author's attitude to life and her strength of character.This is a story about rising above all adversity and succeeding in being happy. The first thing I did after reading this book was buy a copy for my mother and sister and post it home to them. I couldn't recommend this book highly enough and I wish Niamh all the success in the world.

The Singing Warrior is a personal memoir and journey of self-discovery that is often shocking but never hopeless.

Author Niamh Ni Bhroin documents her life growing up in an Irish Catholic family in Dublin as the daughter of a doting but largely absent father, and her loving but ever-present and controlling mother.

She candidly recounts being sexually assaulted at nine years old by the father of a young friend and the ongoing physical and emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of sadistic nuns in her convent school.

Everything is described with great clarity and you can't help but imagine the anguish and pain she must have endured for years on end before moving to Europe and finally settling in Holland.

Sadly these kinds of abuse stories are all too familiar out of Ireland, but Ni Bhroin's writing has such an upbeat feel to it that despite the depressing chain of events, you just know she's going to triumph in the end.

Her positive thinking and emerging self-belief combined with her gift for story telling make The Singing Warrior a compelling read.

It's more than just a memoir. It's a message for anyone struggling to conquer life's hurdles, that looking forward and not giving up will reward you in the end.

Niamh Ni Bhroin was clearly destined for great things and the obstacles she's overcome make her subsequent hard-won happiness and success richly deserved.