Hard Knocks & Soft Spots
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4.6 • 114 Ratings
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- £3.99
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
'I fight hard and love strong. I'm a traveller.'
Paddy Doherty loves his life as an Irish traveller, but as a child he felt like an outsider. He was different to his siblings. On the rare occasions he went to school, he was bullied for being a gypsy boy. And beyond the gates of the camp he found nothing but hostility.
Slowly, Paddy's hurt turned into anger and by the age of 11 he had started out on an illustrious career in bare-knuckle fighting. This earned him a position as one of the most well-respected (and feared) men in the travelling community. Yet while he won countless contests in the ring, the real battles he faced were very much outside.
In this deeply honest autobiography, he tells of how he has loved and lost five children; plummeted to seven stone while battling depression, drink and drugs. He describes how it feels to be shot point-blank in the head and the lengths he'll go to to protect his people, as well as life since My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and Big Brother.
Told with all the warmth and humour he is famed for, Paddy's rich and colourful story is one that will stay with you for a long time to come.
Customer Reviews
Really good and enlightening read.
As a “country man” I can relate to a lot of the old traditions written in this book, as it was the same ways passed down to me.
Fair plays should be the way everyone deals with problems the way we dealt with it as I was growing up.
It’s nice to hear a personal side to another culture and I hope it brings naive people more understanding that we are all human in this world just with different ways of life. And everyone should be treated with equal respect...
A good read
An interesting read that provides an insight into travelling communities; a world many of us 'country folk' will never understand. He is a great ambassador for his community, perhaps a bit biased but you would expect this of a man who is proud of his culture. I am glad he is settled, and hope he and his family can live in peace and use his experiences to build relations between travellers, country folk and authorities.
Paddy
Great read