As a little girl, Kathleen Monaghan found herself in a hellish foster placement where there was no love, no safety, and no protection given by social services.
When she finally escaped, she had two choices: crumble completely, or boldly rebuild. She chose to rebuild herself.
From the rubble came growth, resilience, courage and a voice - the seeds of which, she soon realised, had been there all along.
Now in her forties, Kathleen bravely and precisely lays out her incredible journey to date. She reflects on the hard lessons, choices and internal mental and emotional hard work, to find the love for herself in the sanctuary of her own heart after being robbed of this from others so early on in life. This she does while keeping a sense of humour and warrior spirit alongside it all.
The result is compellingly candid, studded with insight for those on a similar path, with shards of dark, riotous humour, the sort brought about by having no choice but to keep bouncing back.
Mixing terror and triumph, brutality and resilience, danger and hope, this is Kathleen Monaghan's ultimately uplifting memoir about finding joy, peace, and herself.