The Singing Warrior - Finding Happiness After a Life Filled with Pain and Abuse

by Niamh Ni Bhroin

This is a story of survival. It is a story of hope. Niamh was raped inside a wardrobe by the father of a school friend when she was just nine-years-old. An Irish catholic, growing up in Dublin, the nuns called her a Whore of Babylon because she was left-handed. And so began a life of abuse. Niamh is a woman who copes, who gets on with things and who knows how to rise above her past - that is until it resurfaces and becomes an obstacle to the happiness she knows she deserves. Singing saved her life and her sanity. It was her escape from hurt and travesty. Running from her past, Niamh travelled to London, Greece and to the Netherlands, where she found love and a Dutch husband. But it was not until she hit her fiftieth birthday, divorced and living alone with her daughter, that she took her first steps on the road to freedom. This memoir shows how a remarkable woman learned to search for the hero inside herself and began to sing from the rooftops about the joy that can be found in the darkest of times. The author lives in The Hague and is actively involved in both local and expatriate communities. "Courageous in the extreme, Niamh Ni Bhroin takes us on a personal journey that traverses the horrors of the past and the loving embrace of today. Magnificent." Kieron Connolly, novelist

274 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2011

Reviews

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Singing Warrior is a tough book to read. It's not going to make you laugh, nor will it leave you with warm fuzzies. You will become an eyewitness to the sexual, emotional and physical abuse that this warrior author endured at the hands of every institution that should have protected her: family, the educational system, the church, the immediate community. You will be confronted with situations that, as a reader, leave you asking how a beautiful little angel girl could have withstood. Yet she did, and this memoir stands as testimony to the unbreakable female spirit. As hard as it is to read, it's even harder to put down.

*I met Ni Bhroin last November in The Hague, Netherlands and felt an immediate connection to her and she to me. Our stories overlap in so many ways, we decided to launch our books together recently. We'll continue to pair up from time to time for readings, workshops and other events.

[Jack Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Niamh Ni Bhroin's life story is a heart-wrenching tale of tragedy and abuse. Ultimately, though, Niamh's bravery and self-determination shines through like a beacon of hope.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a memoir that will stay with you long after reading. There were moments I had to remind myself it was memoir I was reading, and not fiction. A heartbreaking story: from abuse and powerlessness to courage and strength.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

When reading this story it is sometimes hard to believe that this is someones real life experience and not another novel. I would recommend anyone to read this memoir purely to raise awareness situations that are still relevant in our world today.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A memoir..The author wrote the tale in such a way that this pacifist often felt quite the urge to go out and wish that the violent perpetrators would get what they deserved. It also teachers the reader one can be so much more than what happens to us.

[Maggie Myklebust · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bittersweet memoir that follows an abused little girl on her life's path to being a warrior.