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Against All Odds: The Most Amazing True Life Story You'll Ever Read
 
 

Against All Odds: The Most Amazing True Life Story You'll Ever Read [Kindle Edition]

Paul Connolly
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (753 customer reviews)

Print List Price: £7.99
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Product Description

Product Description

It had been years since I had seen any of the children with whom I had grown up. When I left the children's home, I promised myself that I would have nothing to do with them, I was sure that my only chance of living a good life would be to put the past behind me, even though that meant saying goodbye to some of the people I loved the most - as well as the ones I hated...it turned out that six of us had died, several by slow suicide in the form of heroin abuse, and at least two by faster means. When two police officers arrived out of the blue at Paul Connolly's door, he learned the shocking news that, out of the eight children with whom he shared a dormitory in care, only two were still alive. The revelation unearthed painful memories of a childhood that, until this point, Paul had tried desperately to put behind him. Abandoned at two weeks old, Paul came of age in the infamous St Leonards's Children's Home in East London. The children there were routinely abused, often over the course of many years. All were underfed and unloved and told that they would amount to nothing. Angry and frustrated, Paul channelled his rage into boxing - but when an accident shattered his ambition to turn professional, he found his true calling and became a successful trainer, even working as a consultant on the pilot of a top model's fitness video. Paul has finally found peace and fulfilment beyond anyhing he could have imagined all those years ago. He has found happiness with his wife and children and now helps to heal broken bodies, build confidence and transform lives - but he will never forget his past and the unnecessary victims of broken society...

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 381 KB
  • Print Length: 292 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1844549054
  • Publisher: John Blake (1 Mar 2010)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B00603Y6IS
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (753 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #419 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
85 of 85 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny yet poignant. 5 Jun 2011
By MarkY
Format:Paperback
This book made me laugh and made me cry in equal measure.

The pain that Paul Connolly must have experienced throughout his chilhood was palpable.

And although part of me was repulsed by the violence and the malevolence that Paul displayed, another understood and urged more of the same in order for him to gain some sort of recompense from the ills of a society that let adults abuse the positions of trust they were put in.

Although Paul was on the whole spared the fate that some of the children endured at least he has survived to tell his story and has since become successful in building a career and a family.

I kept questioning why these children were not listened to and how the system failed to protect them. I only hope that this book is read by all those now involved in protecting vulnerable children, the message of which should reverberate for some time.

This book was a superb read and one that I would thoroughly recommend albeit one that will take you on an emotional rollercoaster from heartbreak and anger, to laughter and elation.
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137 of 140 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book! 31 Jan 2011
By SBond
Format:Paperback
A must read, couldn't put it down. I found the book to be gripping and at times really quite emotional. Its amazing how someone with such a bad start in life can turn things around and go on to be a successful businessman with great family values. It goes to show that not everyone with a bad start turns out the way you'd expect.

Paul is most definately an inspiration to everyone. To those, who like himself had a bad start but also to those that didn't that may not appreciate how lucky they were to have a nice childhood.

I would highly recommend this book and have already passed it onto many family and friends.
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117 of 120 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars stunning 1 Mar 2010
Format:Paperback
This is such a raw and honest book that it is at times difficult to read. I am still angry, not just because of the abuse suffered by the youngsters at St Leonards - but at the casual cruelty of the carers pocketing the housekeeping and feeding the children bread and margerine so that they were always hungry. I am far from happy that every crime committed in the course of the book was dealt with adequately. It is a book that really makes you think. It reads like a novel but the central events are a matter of public record and it comes accross as painfully honest. In the end it is a success story - not because of the celebrity side of the fitness training, but on a personal level the fact that despite the abuses of his childhood and the rage he talks about, Paul does finally manage to achieve a loving and happy family life.
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Raw and honest - don't pass this by. 26 Nov 2011
By Slimjim
Format:Kindle Edition
This book won't win any literary prizes but it serves a higher purpose - it tells a truth. It's a story that needs to be told for many reasons. One is that it exposes the abuse in the system and reminds us that everyone, everywhere deserves to be treated decently and humanely. Another is that Paul deserves to tell his story, and to let people know that from the depths and despair of an apparently unchangeable situation you can summon strength, persevere and ultimately triumph. He is an example to all, a modern day hero, grounded in a personal humility who doesn't need to feed off the current fashion for celebrity status. Power to you, Paul.
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124 of 128 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A cliche I know but this is a must-read... 5 Mar 2010
Format:Paperback
Reading this book was at different times a painful, funny, emotional, poignant and ultimately uplifting experience.The resileince of the human spirit has never been better illustrated than within this book's pages.

It is also a damning indictment of the institutional 'care' system in post-war Britain and the establishment responsible for creating and running it.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars So you think you've got it bad? 18 Oct 2010
Format:Paperback
This is a truly remarkable story of ones man's need to survive, no matter what life has thrown at him. It makes you reassess your own life style and those things that the normal person may take for granted...that normality that we strive to achieve on a day to day basis, will never be enough to make up for this guys past!
This book draws you into Pauls world, it is written as it would be spoken and despite the anger and viciousness that Paul has been a major part of, you can not help but sense his vunerability all the way through, and you finish the book feeling like you have, in some part, been through it with him. It really hits you deep inside.
The bravery and trust it must have taken to put all of this onto paper is beyond comprehension and leaves with you with a deep sense of admiration for the author.
This is a book, that once started is very difficult to put down!
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56 of 58 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Real page turner 24 Feb 2010
By Jane Oz
Format:Paperback
Couldn't put it down. A true insight into the life of a brave young man who 'against all the odds' has turned out ok.
Its incredible how adults could treat children in this Dickenson way in the 1960's, a real eye opener.

How refreshing to read a book with references to `celebrities' that isn't a kiss and tell, Connelly hasn't in any way compromised his integrity.. He is an inspiration, to have had the hardships no child should ever endure and overcome the problems he did is just amazing.

I would thoroughly recommend this entertaining funny in parts book that had me shedding a few tears at the end.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars True meaning book
Very good book to read and very true and thank God he found a nice lady to love him for him
Published 1 day ago by paula capes
5.0 out of 5 stars Mind blowing
Couldn't put this down till l had finished it.
Such a sad story but done in a really lovely way.
Published 1 day ago by Charlie
4.0 out of 5 stars FRIGHTENING
A real insight into the world of children in care in 1970's Great Britain, not much to be great about! Read more
Published 1 day ago by JG Perthshire
4.0 out of 5 stars A really good read
Another book that I could not put down, and although I have a busy work life had to continue to read until finished
Published 1 day ago by mrs m prosser
5.0 out of 5 stars against all odds
gripping story lives up to title against all odds indeed. to have anup bringing like that and to turn out ok in the endamazing story
Published 3 days ago by David MacDonalddmacdonald
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent And inspiring read
Great to see how an individual can be faced with awful circumstances yet overcome them through pure determination. Well enjoyed
Published 3 days ago by KC
5.0 out of 5 stars Against all odds
A really good read enjoyed the book dint normally read this type of book but really enjoyed it fair play
Published 3 days ago by sarah morgan
3.0 out of 5 stars a bit repative
i found this book a hard read with too much about his time as a bouncer and not enough about his childhood and the final outcome seemed to take forever to get there
Published 3 days ago by lynn
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating insight in how you can turn your life around
A very honest and frank look at his life and how with perserverence and determination you can come out on top
Published 4 days ago by Rosemarie
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
A fantastical read very well written and put a cross it also shows that bad does . Not . Always breed evil but can make you stronger and wiser. Read more
Published 5 days ago by karen
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Popular Highlights

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&quote;
‘Look in the mirror, because if you don’t like what you see you need to change it because your kids will become you. If you have a road-rage incident, your kid will grow up to experience road rage; if you scream and shout, your kid will scream and shout. You want to look in the mirror and stop the behaviour you don’t want your kid to emulate.’ &quote;
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‘No Viet Cong ever called me nigger, and I’m not going to go and kill a yellow man because a white man tells me to.’ &quote;
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That dreadful understanding, of being utterly alone and unloved, shatters confidence and hope the way nothing else can. &quote;
Highlighted by 46 Kindle users

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