Ma, He Sold Me for a Few Cigarettes: A Heart-Rending Memoir That Will Both Horrify and Inspire

By Martha Long

Book Overview

Born a bastard to a teenage mother in the slums of 1950s Dublin, Martha has to be a fighter from the very start.

As her mother moves from man to man, and more children follow, they live hand-to-mouth in squalid, freezing tenements, clothed in rags and forced to beg for food. But just when it seems things can't get any worse, her mother meets Jackser.

Despite her trials, Martha is a child with an irrepressible spirit and a wit beyond her years. She tells the story of her early life without an ounce of self-pity and manages to recreate a lost era in which the shadow of the Catholic Church loomed large and if you didn't work, you didn't eat.

Martha never stops believing she is worth more than the hand she has been dealt, and her remarkable voice will remain with you long after you've finished the last line.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 184596313X
• ISBN13: 9781845963132
• Release Date: December 2008
• Publisher: Mainstream Publishing Company
• Length: 477 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Not read yet

Interesting yet for the child I'd imagine it's a terrible nightmare in which I hope she wins not just the battle within but the battle

ma' he sold me for a few cigarettes

When we all think that we are having a bad day, or there is nothing in the frig. to eat. Pick up this book "Ma' he sold me for a few cigarettes". The story about a little girl who is beaten, beaten and beaten some more by her Mothers boyfriend, put out into the streets at the age of 4-12 at all hours of the night with just an old torn dress on her back and no coat to keep warm. More dirt on her body then on the ground she walks on. Starving, sexually abused,and used as a go-for. She just wants to be loved, and with all she endures, she is the ONLY ONE who shows love and affection to her younger brothers and sisters. This book is a MUST READ!!. A true story of survival and courage. You will turn the pages in discuss, but it will make you stand up and applaud this little girl for her courage. My heart goes out to Martha Long. You should be awarded the Purple Heart. TWO THUMBS UP

ma, he sold me for a few cigarettes

I saw this book in London at the local bookstore. Despite the streep prices in London, I made the purchase. I was glad that I did. A sad but great book. If one has the drive to get out of poverty and make somnething out of life, then this is the book to read. This young girl is amazing and a role model.

Wow

What a great book, very very sad. Can't recommend it enough, best book I have read in years. Jackser yer a bollix.