I committed a cardinal sin as a kid. I never spoke, and my mother thought there was something seriously wrong with me. A silent child is regarded as a problem in Ireland, and I just read all the time.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I was raised Catholic until I was old enough to say no.
I was raised Catholic, and I can get incredibly guilty about mistakes.
I was raised Catholic.
I was a careless Protestant, my wife was a good Catholic, and we had six kids in seven years and I'd endorse that to everyone.
One day, when my son was eight, he came into the kitchen while I was cooking and said: 'You put bad words in your books, don't you?' No doubt he had overheard my mother, who often tells people who ask about my work: 'Well, you'll never find her books in the Christian bookstore.'
I'm an Irish Catholic and I have a long iceberg of guilt.
When you don't have kids and you're in a Catholic family - one of my sisters had 10 children in 11 years - she's part rabbit - you feel kind of guilty about that. So, I want to do things for other people's children.
Growing up in Ireland, there never seemed to be the notion that children should be seen and not heard. We all looked forward to mealtimes when we'd sit around the table and talk about our days. Storytelling and long, rambling conversations were considered good things.
I spent my entire Irish Catholic youth in a constant state of guilt over imaginary sins. I learned that nothing is a sin as long as you don't take pleasure from it.
I was brought up a Catholic and I was quite fervent, because I was sent to a convent school.