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The God Squad: The Bestselling Story of One Child's Triumph Over Adversity Paperback – July 1, 2002

by Paddy Doyle (Author)

4.4 155 ratings

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By the age of four, Paddy Doyle's mother had died of cancer, and father had commited suicide. He was detained in an industrial school for 11 years, where he was viciously assaulted and sexually abused by his religious custodians. After 3 years, he was taken to a hospital and left there, never to see his custodians again. So began his long round of hospitals, mainly in the company of old dying men, while doctors tried to diagnose his condition. This period of his life, culminating in brain surgery at the age of 10, left him permanently disabled. This title is the true story of a survivor, told with a lack of bitterness for one so shockingly and shamefully treated.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Transworld Publishers (July 1, 2002)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0552150274
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0552150279
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.75 x 7.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,865,605 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #277 in Children with Disabilities
- #1,857 in Children's Studies Social Science (Books)
- #2,983 in Child Abuse (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 155 ratings

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4.4 out of 5

155 global ratings

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Jonathan David Sloate

Don't Miss This Heart-Wrenching, Unforgettable Read

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2012

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The God Squad is Paddy Doyle's heart-wrenching account of the cruelties he suffered at the hands of Church and State as a young boy raised in the Irish industrial school system. When he developed a mysterious medical disorder, he was forsaken to the whims of doctors with no one to protect his interests and well being.

The multiple brain surgeries practiced upon Mr. Doyle when he was just 9 years of age were a travesty of justice, perversion of humanity, desecration of religion, and corruption of the practice of medical science. Mr. Doyle was a young boy at the mercy of institutionalized care, his body destroyed by a Church that abandoned him to doctors who betrayed him, all complicit in the crime. Having suffered the same movement disorder - Dystonia - from a similar age but not with equal severity and free from his medical mismanagement, I can only imagine the monumental challenges he faces daily. One's overriding impression of Mr. Doyle is not his disability but his impassioned advocacy on behalf of the disabled and those that care for them and a gentle soul that bears no ill will towards his own abusers - Paddy Doyle has better things to do with his time.

I can only urge you to read The God Squad's beatifully chronicled narrative as Paddy Doyle leads your heart into another world for an unforgettable experience of unwarranted circumstance, raging injustice and childhood resilience that leaves you wondering at the utter senselessness of a system that allows the abuse and abandonment of innocent children.

6 people found this helpful

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Sylvia Shanahan

The God Squad

Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2007

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This is the fascinating true story of a little boy who through no fault of his own is incarcerated in one of the appalling Irish industrial schools in existence in Ireland until 1970. He suffered physical, emotional and sexual abuse and as if this were not enough, he was then taken by the nuns of the industrial school and left to spend years of his precious life in different hospitals where he appears to have been no more than a guinea pig and was left with a permanent disability. Up to this day, no-one within the system has accounted for the brain operations, his eventual disability or any reason why he was in the different hospitals.
The book is very well written and although it describes the horrors inflicted on a small child, the sadistic treatment he received in the hands of the nuns, one can sense a healthy resignation which comes across every page thus making the unbearably sad story a little easier to read.
I found the book an inspiration, an ode to life, for after the total deprivation of affection, protection, a simple toy even, and having had his life taken away from him and practicaly destroyed, he not only survives with sanity but he wins in a superhuman way as he tells with such dignity about the perverse system under which he and so many other children were detained.
It must have been very difficult to relive the horrors whilst writing this very informative book. And for such an effort, I am indebted.

15 people found this helpful

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jamicam

unbearable

Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2009

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The story of Paddy Doyle's life is unbearably tragic. The book is well worth reading. While I believe the story is true, I do question some of the facts. Mainly -- the book implies that Doyle's physical problems are the result of the surgeries performed on him. However he writes on his website that he suffers from generalized dystonia. It just made me question some of the book.

However, it appears that he does many good works for those with disabilities and is an inspiration.

3 people found this helpful

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M. Walters

ok, but Not so hot

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2014

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Difficult to read and follow.

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mame

Only the Strong Survived

Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2014

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Written from the unique perspective of an adult describing the confusing events orchestrated by dismissive, cruel and indifferent adults, Paddy Doyle creates a sense of growing horror on each page. Although four when his mother died and his father committed suicide, his single recollection of his pre-institutional life was an image of a man hanging from a tree in recurring nightmares. Since he discovered his father's body, he was severely traumatized. He did not remember a younger sister or any other relatives. He was labeled a liar by the nuns and often caned for his nightmares. Possibly the worst abuse was the carte blanc given the medical profession to perform experimental brain surgery to correct a real or imagined limp which eventually left him wheel chair dependent. As a ward of the state , there was no one to protect him. Few adults were identified by names or pseudonyms. These were the very kind or the very cruel. Paddy avoided attachments, having been rejected by his family and abused by caretakers. In effect, "God Squad" is a narrative of four years in the life of a traumatized little boy with a will to survive in spite of having the odds stacked against him.. The title, "The God Sqad" is ironic. One thinks of activist religious of the '60's seeking to change the world. Paddy's "God Sqad," both lay and religious,served to maintain the cruel and inhumane status quo.

4 people found this helpful

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Linda M.

Always watch the watchers

Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2015

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Very interesting story about a small Irish boy in the mid-20th century who is traumatized by witnessing his father's suicide, abandoned by his extended family, and placed in a Catholic orphanage which is run by nuns who treated their young charges with as much kindness and mercy as the Japanese soldiers showed the American and other Allied POW's on the Burma Road in WWII. These "brides of Christ" we're obviously unfamiliar with Christ's teachings, or unwilling to implement them in the service of "the little children" or "the least of these". After seeing the movie "Philomena", I was interested in the subject of Catholic "mercy" organizations" during that time period from other points of view. I am very glad I got to read this book. I think it confirms my belief that if you know of someone in an institution, nursing home, etc. , you must go on unannounced visits to check on conditions, and ALWAYS WATCH THE WATCHERS/CAREGIVERS.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Heather Denny

Four Stars

Reviewed in Canada on April 23, 2015

Verified Purchase

Informative

Jaykay436

Very well written

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 4, 2011

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I loved this book.
It's a horrible, true story about a very young boy trying his best to survive the institutions he was living in, in post war Ireland. He tells, without bitterness, how he was abused and beaten by the nuns who were supposed to look after him. A child so traumatised he end up with physical manifestation of stress and emotional trauma that he was operated on and left permanently disabled. The story spans 6 years of his childhood.

My ONLY criticism is I wanted it to be longer! I wanted the story to continue past the age of 11.

It will make you angry, laugh, smile and cry - I had it read over 2 days.

One person found this helpful

tarona23

Sad but honest

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2013

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Touching and well written but leaves one wondering how such cruelty was allowed amongst the nuns
If the Catholic church had any decency they would tell this man where is mother was buried and the truth about his parents.So what is the church hiding? Well worth the read and should be made into movie.
Kathleen

3 people found this helpful

Adam B

Beautifully written

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2020

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Have been meaning to read this book for a long time, a beautifully written book that deals with very troubling issues. Rest in Peace Paddy Doyle

Posey

Excellent

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2017

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