Sophia’s Story by Susan McKay

In 1995, Sophia McColgan’s father was sentenced to prison for the serial rape and abuse of his children over many years. He had first raped Sophia when she was only six. It had taken immense courage on the part of Sophia and her family to bring the murky, hidden world of family child abuse to the public gaze. Then, in 1998, Susan McKay published “Sophia’s Story”, one of the most acclaimed Irish books of modern times. Now re-issued with a new introduction by Susan McKay, it records a triumph of the human spirit in the face of the most degrading and destructive betrayal of trust. Sophia McColgan, who now lives abroad, was Irish Person of the Year in 1998. “She might have stepped from a medieval painting. The soft, deep, dark eyes, the clear, pale, skin, the long tumbling chestnut curls. And the stillness, not of an uncomfortable kind, but of a serenity born out of stoicism and suffering.” – “The Irish Times” . “A story that needed to be written, and needs to be read.” – “Evening Herald” “Sophia’s courage and determination are heroic and will surely shine as a beacon to thousands of people who did not think they could fully live again.” – Books Ireland. “Who should read it? Everyone.” – Irish Social Worker.