Calum O’Domhnaill has had a very eventful life, explored in Taking The Bad With the Good we find out about his upbringing in a Catholic school, how he then gravitates towards a life of crime, a tragic accident that leads to the loss of a child and how he and his wife, Lydia, rebuild from the trauma.
I think that this is a great read for those interested in autobiographies. This book covers a range of topics with openness and honesty which makes this story both endearing and heart wrenching. The author doesn’t pull his punches as he covers the darker events in his and his family’s life, but there is some humour to be found amongst the pages too.
Taking the Bad With the Good is the story of one man’s upbringing in a dysfunctional family, an Irish Catholic upbringing and convent school system, the tragedies that befell his wife before they met, and those that happen to their family and how they are overcome. This is a twisting rollercoaster of a life that is incredibly moving however it is also a story of resilience and I think that a lesson of hope can be found too.
Taking the Bad with the Good is the autobiography of an ordinary man. From his childhood in a dysfunctional family, in a dysfunctional world he gravitates from mischief to trouble and into crime. His life changes by a chance encounter with Lydia, the woman who will share his journey for the decades to come. Tragedy strikes and they must first survive it before starting to rebuild. The extraordinary courage and fortitude of Lydia and of their son defies belief. Challenges impede them in their quest for contentment but do not stop it. This book will resonate with anyone who has ever felt anything, ever wanted for anything and who has ever lost the most precious things. Not a sad tale but it will make you cry, not a comedy but you will laugh. A story in every chapter and an epic tale in them all.
