One of the most depressing autobiographies you could ever read. The story of a very, very poor Irish boy surviving hunger, the death of several siblings and an alcoholic father who squanders his meager wages on beer rather than feeding his starving children. The kind of book that makes you feel grateful for your life and the luxury of a bowl of oatmeal. He survives near death illnesses. It is a brutally honest recounting of a desperately poor childhood. But the writing is not bitter or resentful. It is about learning to survive and finding what joy you can whenever you can. It is truly an inspiring book because it make you really appreciate what you had growing up.