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In this candid coming-of-age memoir, St. Patrick probes harsh realities of her upbringing, absent fathers, the painful bond with her mother, and the grievous mistakes that riddle her adulthood. Co-written with award-winning actor and author Arista, the book serves as a resource for others experiencing mental, physical, or sexual abuse. The final pages include support hotlines for anyone who needs them. St. Patrick never shies away from details as she traces the “roses and thorns” that have affected her and wants readers to appreciate and learn from her struggles.
Early in the book, St. Patrick shares two of her cruelest memories, when, between the ages of five and six, she is molested by a family member and finds her mother’s body after an attempted suicide. The abuse is shockingly ignored, a trauma that St. Patrick spends forty-five years working to resolve. However, the relationship between her mother and her is irreparable, and St. Patrick is shuffled between New Jersey and Indiana to live with her grandmother, whom she calls Granny. The “kind, patient and understanding woman” who carries the weight of absent fathers remains a constant presence, or “the Rock,” for St. Patrick, effectively fulfilling the mother role.
Peeling back the layers, dissecting painful associations, conflicts, and joys that have shaped her, a recurring theme emerges, threading St. Patrick’s narrative together: a search for home. Navigating myriad complex relationships in her life, the love interests, and family who have wronged or supported her, St. Patrick portrays a resilient woman who has dealt with everything and anything one could imagine in a lifetime. The author's book is refreshingly straightforward, examining how society molds us and how one can persevere in the face of adversity.