The Likes of Us
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About this ebook
In the backdrop of Ireland in 1964, a family of six siblings is torn apart after their mother's abandonment. Their father cruelly separates them, leaving them at the mercy of two Catholic religious institutions in Dublin.
Ann was unaware that her younger brothers, aged nine and seven, were sent to the notorious Artane Industrial School. Similarly, no one, except their father, knew that the Sacred Heart Home had taken in Ann and her sisters. With the whereabouts of their youngest brother shrouded in uncertainty, "The Likes of Us" unfolds the remarkable journey of how they reunite, against all odds, without help from the Irish State or the Religious Orders.
Using copybooks and journals she penned over half a century ago, Ann's narrative, told in the deceptively simple language of her younger self, delves into a world where lost innocence, childhood abruptly cut short, and the weight of adult responsibilities presses down on her as she navigates a hostile world.
At its core, "The Likes of Us" provides a compelling and fearless insight into the Sacred Heart Home, a prominent orphanage in Drumcondra, Dublin that faced scrutiny from Ireland's Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, established in 2000.
Ultimately, "The Likes of Us" is a testament to the enduring power of love and the unbreakable bonds of family.
Ann Marie O'Keeffe
Ann Marie O'Keeffe, writer of short stories and poetry, cannot remember a time when she wasn't reading or writing. Her passion for writing started at a young age as a way to make sense of her childhood. Delving into an old suitcase of journals and copybooks written by her younger self, accumulated over many years, she reread and relived all the moments of sadness, fear, triumphs, humour, guile and betrayal she experienced as a child, to craft her memoir, "The Likes of Us." In this book, O'Keeffe's writing offers readers a profound glimpse into the mind of an abandoned child living in a frighteningly cruel environment. She lives in South West Wales UK where her interests, outside of reading and writing, are gardening, crafting and sewing.
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