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Sugar sandwiches and smarts: a poor kid's fairytale ending

Raised by addicts, Dr Katriona O'Sullivan defied the odds to become a university lecturer

Dr Katriona O'Sullivan from Coventry in the UK was born to parents addicted to heroin. She was neglected and not fed. But for the care she received from two influential teachers and the occasional stroke of luck, life may have gone in a very different direction.
Katriona's written a book about her life called Poor.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: Edgar Maddicott

Get in touch: [email protected]

(Photo: Dr Katriona O'Sullivan. Credit: Keith Arkins)

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41 minutes

Last on

Tue 30 May 202302:06GMT
BBC World Service

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Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected