Author Description

A box of old letters saved for 40 years was the nucleus of R.D. 1, in 3 volumes. A young wife writes letters to help with her battle to hold on to her sanity while dealing with an irresponsible, manipulative husband and four rambunctious, discordant children. Her letters were generally upbeat and she never told it like it was. Now you will know the whole story. The story takes us from the poverty of the coal mining area of Pennsylvania to the rolling hills and fertile farms of southern Pennsylvania; then on to the industrial areas of Ohio where the children spent their teenage years and lives change and go on... Patricia was born in Jamaica, Long Island, New York in 1934, to middle class parents. Eighteen months later a sister was born. Dad worked in the Brooklyn shipyards during the war and was a plumber by trade. Mom was a stay at home mom. Pat married at an early age and had two boys when her husband decided he wanted to farm so they moved to Union Dale, Pennsylvania in the coal mining areas of the Appalachian Mountains. There two daughters were born. There were several moves after that, each with its own story. Pat considers herself an autodidact. She had a desire to write at an early age but did not have the time to pursue it except for editing monthly newsletters and covering town meetings for the local newspaper at various times and places. After the children were grown she lived in San Diego for 30 years and recently came back to Ohio to be near her children. The books she is now working on, as she had promised a long time ago, are a tribute to her mother.