Guest Book

Thank you Pat! With tears in my eyes and a full heart, I write this as a fellow Marine Corps Brat! My dad was… almost a duplicate copy of yours, but by the Grace of God I learned to love him and the Corps sadly long after I left that life. As with The Great Santini… it wasn’t always bad and there are many times I look back and appreciate what the Marine Corps taught me… lessons learned.

A year or so ago, I read/listened to "My losing season", it was by accident and it was no accident that I was instantly captured by the beautiful way that this writer this artist, Pat Conroy wove his stories. The smooth butter of his words made them so easy to be consumed. I found myself numerous times shaking my head at the beauty of his lyrics. As one whom listens to audio books as I drive, I decided to purchase "South of Broad" right before Christmas. It was fortunate it arrived the morning the day I would be leaving... then well, it had me at and took me too "the mansion on the river" and I never turned around. I so love it when we are introduced to places and characters so vivid and colorful that they are a joy to visualize in our minds eye... and thogh they only truly exist in the words of a gifted writer, we find ourselves giving them, these words on paper, personalities of flesh and bone. With that, those visualizations, we become voyeurs to their journeys...

When I think about it, getting lost in one of Pats books is kind of like going on a vacation... a journey of new friends and the excitement, drama, etc that they bring with them on every word, every page, but then... as in life everything that has a beginning must also have an end... you start to fear the final pages... and so it is that as those pages do dwindle down, the realization it will soon be over and everything must go back to your normal... so it is that with that last page... that last line, you find yourself knowing, that you will be missing those words of flesh and bone that you came to know and the moments you shared in the pages you left behind.

Just read South of Broad. I have no idea where I picked it up or how long it has been with me. Maybe from a thrift store haul, possibly a little free library or a take one bookshelf at the USO. What a find. I have for about 5 years I think, had trouble reading and focusing on a story. It was a new sad thing, the inability to escape while turning pages. This got me from the start. And kept me all in until the end. What a beautiful medley of people, time, place and spirit. Thank you Mr. Conroy.

Today I received an ask for the Conroy library. I told my wife, the bookkeeper in our house, to send a donation. She asked why. The only answer I could give her was that Pat had entertained, enlightened, and shared so much through his writings that I wanted to be sure there was a place like it for others to learn and and immerse themselves in the joy and pain of his works.
The Citadel ‘67

I adore Mr Conroy's writings. I first fell in love with his books when I read Prince of Tides a very long time ago. The way he describes everything from the look, smell and feel of the water to his delicious way of explaining emotions from grief, and fear to anger and the heartbreak of love.
Thank you so very much.

I discovered how reading can change your life in high school. In 1981 I was lonely after my mom died when I was 15, she was an Italian immigrant and moved to America when she was 11. She was reading the John Jakes series and I lived in a beautiful strict ethnic home. I picked up one of her books and I was hooked on reading. It taught me to enjoy to read, my English was good but my mom always used Italian words so I thought English was a combination of both English and Italian as I grew up. I discovered Pat Conroy when I was in college and it changed the way I thought about things. He was the first author that I ever read which was capable of saying an entire paragraphs worth the words in one sentence his writing is flawless beautiful and moving. I’ve read his books over and over again. His writing style makes me think about how I write emails and messages and how to be a better writer in person.

Thanks Pat for teaching me, first generation immigrant and how to communicate better. Also, I loved your books when your characters were in Italy, beautifully written with such incredible detail. Thank you Pat, I think we’d be great friends.

Can’t stop reading Mr. Conroy’s novels. I found him in my 30’s. 40 years later, his books still touch my heart.

Can someone from Pat Conroy family please reach out to my friend who just passed away and loved your father , loved his books and his cook books
It would mean the world to her family her name is Dawn Berkeley

I've had a 40 year love affair with Mr. Conroy's books. Assigned The Great Santini in my AP Literature class in 1983, I began the slow but sure walk through it, at first reluctant (I was, and still am to some extent, a huge Stephen King fan) and then had to control myself to pace myself reading the rest. Never had I wanted to reread a book the instant I finished it! I was happy and glad to find the rest of his work before Santini and I was hooked. HOOKED.

Mr. Conroy's worked its magic on my ADD brain like nothing other. His descriptions helped me get into the story, deeper than I'd ever had with any other novel. I didn't want to skip one nuance of how he painted the scenery and emotions of his passages. Oh my goodness, how I hung to every word of his. And it continued, through every book he shared with the world. His death was the first "celebrity" death that affected me, ever, for I knew that with his passing many more unwritten stories went with him. I hope and pray somehow, that there are more Pat Conroy words out there, buried and unseen, waiting to be discovered. Never have I admired a writer more than Mr. Conroy. Never.