TY - BOOK AU - Connolly,Paul AU - Shircore,Ian TI - Beating the odds: from shocking childhood abuse to the embrace of a loving family, one man's true story of courage and redemption SN - 9781782199830 (pbk.) : AV - HV887 U1 - 362.76092 23 PY - 2014/// CY - London PB - John Blake KW - Connolly, Paul, KW - St. Leonard's Children's Home (London, England) KW - Adult child abuse victims KW - Great Britain KW - Biography KW - Children KW - Institutional care KW - England KW - London KW - ukslc KW - True stories of heroism, endurance & survival KW - thema KW - Child abuse KW - Biography: sport KW - Memoirs N2 - From shocking childhood abuse to the embrace of a loving family, one man's true story of love and redemption; One man's remarkable tale of endurance and survivalvivid, disturbing, but ultimately uplifting, as the beaten child, once told he was rubbish and would never be worth anything, becomes a man with the heart to love, live, and embrace the future As Paul Connolly struggled to leave behind his painful, humiliating childhood in the notorious St. Leonards childrens home, the ghosts of his past would not let go. The pedophiles and sadists had damaged so many kids. Some had died, from suicide or heroin. Others, like Paul, had emerged, battered and illiterate, to try to find a place in the world. When a fall from a roof shattered his boxing ambitions, he survived in a brutal underworld of routine violence, before eventually building a career as a celebrity fitness trainer, working with the stars of fashion and film. After Against All Odds became a surprise bestseller, everything changed for Paul. He found himself speaking at the House of Lords, appearing on TV and getting involved in projects with abused kids and illiterate adults. But a rare heart infection almost killed him, and the old demons still haunted him. Four years later, Paul has made a new world for himself, centered on his young family and a successful training business that mends broken bodies, builds confidence, and changes lives for the better ER -