Katriona O’Sullivan’s story of growing up in poverty is one that we can all learn from | Letters

Reading the memoir Poor reinforced the vastness and complexity of poverty – an issue that still blights the lives of countless young people today, says Sarah Schofield

Adrian Chiles’s emotional response to Poor by Katriona O’Sullivan really resonated with me (I’d never cried during a live broadcast – then three poignant words had me sobbing, 30 July). I read it and my heart both sobbed and cheered for Katriona’s younger self and the woman she has become.

With its linear narrative, rich cultural references and “rags-to-riches” form, it might be taken for a tale of “that was then but this is now”. However, the defining part of the book is the epilogue, making clear that Katriona’s account of growing up in grinding, abject poverty is a story of then and now. Every day, countless Katrionas enter schools with “pissy pants” and empty bellies, their nervous systems on high alert, in fight, flight or freeze.