Survival

This is a memoir of a lad born illegitimate in north east England in 1944. His parents later married and he was sent to his father's parents in western Ireland. He was brought back to England when he was nine and was continually beaten and battered by his father throughout his teenage years, calling him a bastard. He survived with his memories of Ireland, his trust in his Catholic faith, the help of kind people and relatives, and his love of chemistry. He went through major crises, had determination to find a better life, felt often alone in 1960s England and Scotland, took on challenges, fought back against despair, struggled with his sexual identity, went to university and finally migrated to Americ