Jackie Hayden and author Sadie Harpur at Arklow Library on Tuesday 2 April. Photo: Jim Campbell
Sadie Harpur, author of Hidden World of a Foster Girl, is interviewed at the Write By The Sea Festival in Kilmore Quay, Wexford.
© Gorey Guardian
Sadie Harpur, author of the recently published Gorey memoir The Hidden World of a Foster Girl, is interviewed as part of a discussion about the world of foster children at the Write By The Sea Festival in Kilmore Quay, Wexford.
Sadie, who grew up in foster care in Mount Merrion, Dublin, will share the stage with Fiona Neary, author of Parcels in the Post: Growing Up With Fifty Siblings.
Sadie and Fiona will speak to social worker Geraldine Quigley about their experiences with the Irish care system.
As she explains in the book, Sadie experienced turbulent periods of great anxiety as a child and suffered learning difficulties due to undiagnosed dyslexia. She was described as mentally below average and suffered from depression, suicidal thoughts and was repeatedly bullied. She also experienced violent outbursts, self-harm, low self-esteem and, ultimately, the suicide of her foster brother Gary.
Following the publication of Hidden World of a Foster-Girl, the Lord Mayor of Dublin invited Sadie to speak to a specially invited audience of foster carers at the Mansion House. Her poems have also been published in two anthologies by Wexford Women Writing Undercover.
Sadie’s memoirs have been received with great acclaim, with the Irish Foster Care Association describing them as “inspirational”.
Niamh Browne of Hot Press said similarly: “The Hidden World Of A Foster Girl is a heartbreaking read that tugs at the heartstrings. It is a deeply haunting reminder of the anxieties that come with growing up in foster care in Ireland.”
Grace O’Reilly wrote on www.writing.ie: “Sadie is an inspiration to many and I sincerely hope she is proud of how far she has come in her life and that she has written her true life story to help others now and in the future… overall, she hurt my heart.”
The World of Fostering event takes place on Saturday 28 September at 3pm at the Saltees Coast Hotel, Kilmore Quay. Tickets are on sale now for €10, with day tickets for the full day event costing €75.
