With the end of his life approaching, an old man has only one regret. He has not been able to tell the full story of his childhood. The memories were painful. They had been buried for decades. But he could not reach the end of his life without the truth being told. ÔThe Pigeon HouseÕ is a moving story of a boyÕs triumph against the odds. It recounts his struggle with poverty, neglect, exploitation, disease and abuse. Through this vivid account, we meet his drunk and abusive mother, his remote father, the sadistic teacher, the uncaring doctor, the exploitative priest and the abusing nun. A conspiracy of silence within a Catholic institution sustains the regime of abuse. One brave figure tries to confront it Ð only to be banished. After that, it is a battle between abusive authority and a young boyÕs inner will to survive. The painful truth of what happened in the Pigeon House, and how one boy overcame it, brings compelling reaffirmation of the triumph of the human will.