Beating the Odds

From shocking childhood abuse to the embrace of a loving family, one man's true story of courage and redemption

One man's remarkable tale of endurance and survival—vivid, disturbing, but ultimately uplifting, as the beaten child, once told he was rubbish and would never be worth anything, becomes a man with the heart to love, live, and embrace the future

As Paul Connolly struggled to leave behind his painful, humiliating childhood in the notorious St. Leonard’s children’s home, the ghosts of his past would not let go. The pedophiles and sadists had damaged so many kids. Some had died, from suicide or heroin. Others, like Paul, had emerged, battered and illiterate, to try to find a place in the world. When a fall from a roof shattered his boxing ambitions, he survived in a brutal underworld of routine violence, before eventually building a career as a celebrity fitness trainer, working with the stars of fashion and film. After Against All Odds became a surprise bestseller, everything changed for Paul. He found himself speaking at the House of Lords, appearing on TV and getting involved in projects with abused kids and illiterate adults. But a rare heart infection almost killed him, and the old demons still haunted him. Four years later, Paul has made a new world for himself, centered on his young family and a successful training business that mends broken bodies, builds confidence, and changes lives for the better.