Please Don’t Make Me Go

The harrowing true story of a terrorized childhood, torn apart by violence and overcome with courage. From the age of five John was beaten – mercilessly and relentlessly – by his father. After enduring years of cruelty, John finally snapped when he was thirteen and threatened his father with a kitchen knife. His response? He sent John to the notorious St Vincent’s school, run by a group of Catholic Irish Brothers. St Vincent’s taught a very different set of Christian principles from love and forgiveness. Tormented physically and sexually by one boy in particular, and by the Brothers in general, John realized he would have to fight to survive. Please Don’t Make Me Go tells in heart-rending detail of the beatings, the weapons fashioned from toilet chains and stones, and the loneliness – but we also see John’s friendship with his only protector at the school, Father Delaney and his best friend Bernard and his unstinting love for his mother who continued to suffer at the hands of his violent father. Please Don’t Make Me Go is the heartbreaking story of a forgotten boy and an example of the resilience of the human spirit.