Susan Boyle revealed this week some of the inner torment that must have plagued her as a child.

In her interview with Harper's Bazaar she talks wistfully and honestly of her childhood.

As the magazine notes, Boyle was born to a 47-year-old mother. Deprived of oxygen at birth, she suffered learning difficulties as a child.

"As a kid, I was in my own wee world when I listened to records in my bedroom," she says. "I didn't mix with other kids much. I was frightened of people because of their reactions toward me.

"It's complicated but the best way I could express myself was in the bedroom, singing along and imagining I was entertaining people."

"I was frightened of people because of their reaction to me." That is a statement that goes to the heart like a dagger.

Clearly the stories that Susan was bullied are true, that she was intimidated and withdrawn and she lived in her own world.

From such unpromising beginnings came the greatest YouTube star of her generation. It is truly a remarkable story and the Susan that graces the pages of Harper’s Bazaar is so unlike the woman who first faced the jury on “Britian's Got Talent” that the transformation is miraculous.

She talks about her cat Pebbles, a great source of comfort for her. We learn he is a “rescue klitten,” one taken from an environment where he had been badly treated.

Susan is a rescue person in the same way. Her childhood and adulthood up until her extraordinary performance must have been very tough, unfair and difficult to withstand.

How she has handled fame so far, however, is an example of the strength within.

Most people thrown on the world stage would surely have had problems coping. Almost everyone with her tough background would have folded by now.

The Susan in Harper’s Bazaar, however, is poised and assured, funny and above all, thankful for the opportunity to speak, or in her case sing, her piece.

The lonely little girl locked away in her bedroom imagining she was singing to the stars has grown up to fulfill that fantasy.

She is still learning to cope with fame as the magazine notes. "Despite her newfound fame, there are a lot of things Susan Boyle doesn't do. She doesn't go on vacation or go out much. She isn't into fashion or gourmet food. She isn't married, doesn't have children, and hasn't seen the world."

That is clearly all about to change.

Simon Cowell is interviewed in the Harper's magazine piece and outlines the difficulty the show faced after interest in Susan went ballistic.

"When the drama unfolded, we asked ourselves, What do we do now? When things calmed down, we asked her. And she said she wanted to sing. Really? I asked. Even though you'll have to put up with all the other stuff? She said yes. I don't believe I should be saying no, you can't do anything because you're not able to handle things for whatever reasons. That's patronizing," he said.

As for Cowell, Boyle doesn't see him as many others do. "He's a lovely guy," she says. "Lovely guy. Who doesn't get on with him?"

That is the secret to Susan Boyle, the ability to grasp the nettle of fame and not get stung by it.

Even as canny an operator as Simon Cowell has fallen under the spell, it seems, though undoubtedly the dollar signs help.

Susan is on her way to being one of the biggest performers in showbizland. It couldn't happen to a better person. The shy little girl of decades ago has finally turned into the princess.