REVIEWS:
KIRKUS REVIEW:
“A MOVING ACCOUNT OF THE PROFOUND MOMENTS IN ONE MAN’S LIFE.”
“THE AUTHOR…INVITES THE READER TO EXPERIENCE AGING THROUGH HIS EYES.”
“PATRICK IS PAINFULLY HONEST…”
“…HE MOURNS EVERYTHING FROM LOST KEYS TO WASTED TIME.”
“THE RARE LOVE POEMS SHIMMER WITH JOY… THESE POEMS GENTLY TUG AT THE HEARTSTRINGS.”
RED CITY REVIEW - FOUR STARS
“A book you won't forget..."
"...'There's a Person in Here' is a stellar collection.”
The 24th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards.
“…the perfect gift, to oneself or another, for relief in getting through difficult moments in life.”
An earlier reader review:
"A powerful, original, intensely personal debut..."
"This is a startling, dazzling, brilliant collection, a remarkable voice that calls to mind David Foster Wallace, Donald Barthelme and yes, I dare to say James Joyce. From pages of poetry, one spare word per line, to a stunning, unpuncutated morphine sickbed stream of consciousness, Patrick leads us through dream-like landscapes of love, loss, regret and redemption."
Written by Steve M. - April 13, 2015
Welcome.
This landing page is a place for you to get to know my new book...you can also leave a comment or question if you would like...and if you are interested in buying THERE'S A PERSON IN HERE, you can do that on this site or Amazon.
The first reader review and link to google books is also at the bottom of this page. Thanks...James Patrick
Now, a little more about THERE’S A PERSON IN HERE:
I started taking notes about my life soon after my first marriage imploded and I had time, alone with myself, for the first time, in too long a time. That was about 1989. I worked on the book for the next 25 years.
If you read the back cover of the book (see below) you will get a general idea of the areas the book has tried to cover. At an early point in the book’s development, I showed a draft to my uncle, and he pointed out that I was writing a memoir/autobiography. He was right, and so that is what I continued to do.
The idea, for me, was to express my respect for the past and capture the memories, good and bad, of my thoughts, words and deeds. The characters reflected, represent my mother, father, brothers, children, and the rest of my family and friends, as I encountered them. I believe my recollections to be fairly accurate, while acknowledging, they are largely my recollections, and without counterpoint.
Not sure about you or anyone else, but I seem to hold this wide range of memories and feelings sacred. Turns out they have been with me all my life, in one form or another, and I continue to enjoy their companionship.
Working on the writing of the book helped me expose and purge certain emotional ghosts, while at the same time, serving as a meeting place for the recently, and not so recently, lost loved ones.
My wish is that in some small way, the reader will find the book calming, even helpful, if the situations align.
Thanks again,
J.P.
BACK COVER COPY: Begun in 1989, following the untimely death of his parents, and culminating in 2012, following the loss of his eldest son, the author continuously documented and captured his emotions, or lack of them, around the events of his everyday life. This collection shares those records and more, including boyhood memories, and his thoughts on relationships, parenthood, colon cancer, life, loss, recovery, reconciliation, and reparation. It is a perfect companion for those dealing with any of the same issues. While the raw honesty is challenging at times, THERE'S A PERSON IN HERE is a quick, insightful read that stays with you and is well worth the emotional investment if you are willing to relate one man's very personal struggle toward enlightenment to your own.
Here the first review of THERE'S A PERSON IN HERE...as it appears on google.com books:
Reader Review - "This book is a revelation, introducing us to a very personal voice that is at once cryptic, clipped, clinical and somehow also lyrically flowing. Detail follows detail. And moves on. To a next moment. That enriches. Then changes. To a new next moment. Patrick evokes the anomalies, uncertainties, mood shifts, game changes, disintegrations, dislocations and revelations resonant in our dreams. And all the while lets this spare, methodical charting of the unmoored and the fantastic serve as a metaphor for our own daily struggles, stalemates, victories and failures. One hesitates to drag "unique" out of the cliche bucket, but Patrick is just that. This is truly powerful stuff."