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Who's Publishing What: Royal Roots
Our stories can heal us, transform us and help us reimagine our lives.
No one knows that better than Patricia Wynn Brown, whose newly released memoir is a primer in how to tell your story with vulnerability in the quest to find the truth and a peaceful reconciliation with the past.
In Royal Roots: Reimagining a Life Through Humor, a Castle and the U.S. Navy (Biblio Publishing), hopes and dreams spring to life with booming tract housing and shiny new refrigerators in post-WWII America. However, many service members’ families continued to suffer in a never-ending, unacknowledged war.
Brown, “the mouthy one” in the family, is hell-bent on overcoming the hardships of her chaotic family life. She battles family shame brought on by her veteran Dad’s bizarre behaviors and unexpected absences for hospitalizations while also figuring out how to mail a letter to her favorite Beatle (Paul).
When her father’s headline-grabbing death in 1980 eventually hits her, she is forced to reassess her life. A visit to a Welsh castle bolsters her courage to search for the truth behind her father’s actions, which leads to stunning disclosures. The U.S. Navy helps transform shame into understanding and love. This uplifting journey’s revelatory lessons apply to anyone who is reassembling the fragments of a shattered life.
Brown tells her story with wit, faith and an unflinching gaze. It is a humorous yet poignant exploration of how PTSD can impact a family, interwoven with a vivid portrayal of the popular culture and watershed events of the 1950s to 1970s.
Brown is an award-winning writer, national speaker, performer, dancer and former longtime emcee of the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop, where she continues to help plan the event. Her humor memoir column appeared in newspapers for eight years. For 15 years, she performed her comedy memoir show across the country.
As a former Catholic schoolgirl, her favorite color is plaid. Patricia considers humor to be the eighth sacrament of healing. A beloved comment she hears often from readers and audience members is, “I needed that laugh more than you’ll ever know.”