Guest Book

Several years ago I had the good fortune to meet Pat Conroy during a book signing at Litchfield Books. What a memorable experience!

Then, earlier this month I had the good fortune to visit the Pat Conroy Literary Center. What a memorable experience!
Center Ambassadors Ed Williams and Fred Campo were fantastic...meeting Jonathan Haupt was an honor...the Pat Conroy exhibits were inspiring. Kudos to all those people who have had a part in developing such a fitting tribute to Pat Conroy...the man whose writings have touched the lives of countless readers...including mine.

I wish I could have talked to Pat about my family. When mom drank she had a lot of Santinis "qualities". My sister had substance abuse and mental health issues. Nice to know mine wasn't the only family to face theses issues.

Also I was brought up in a conservative southern town. My family was the only family on the block to have a Johnston sign on their front lawn during the 64 election. Everyone else had Goldwater signs. I know what it's like to be liberal in a conservative town.

I just finished South of Broad. What a moving story! I could identify with the characters as some of the same things have happened in my family’s lives. I guess that is what he was saying when he said if he wrote about his life it would help you understand things in your life. It did. I cried & laughed & was shocked all in the lifetime of this wonderful story.
Thankyou Pat Conroy

I remember when I was reading Prince of Tides how it affected me. I had never read a book where the writing style and story touched me so much.
In fact Prince of Tides touched my soul. I am a avid reader. It has helped me get through some very tough times in my life, however no books have touched me as much as Pat Conroy's have and I thank him for giving me that joy and many hours of reading his books all that touched me deeply...

I was on a website book club and was asked what my all time favorite 2 books were and Prince of Tides was my first. Mr. Conroy was such a word-master. That story still has a place in my heart and soul even now. My second book was Lila by Marilyn Robinson that reminded me of the feeling I got when I read Prince of Tides and I don't know why. I thank Pat Conroy for starting me on my journey to reading books that matter. Thank you.

I’ve always been an avid reader but I’ll never forget the first time I read The Prince of Tides. I could not put it down. It wasn’t just one thing but so many. Being from the south I understood so much and then there’s his eloquent verbiage. My my my… his words evoke such emotion... everything from joy to horror and all points in between. It’s a masterpiece. Such treasures he left. Thank you Mr Conroy.

I Have read The Prince of Tides every year since I first purchased it shortly after publication. Reading this novel, finished once more early this morning, is like reading my favorite poem, or the Bible--so full of beauty and horror, the amazing ying-yang of life. It is a healing read, especially for folks like me, victims and heirs to a southern upbringing. I say prayers of thanksgiving to you, Mr. Conroy.

Beach Music ... a classic. While I am a few years older than Shyla & company, so much of the book resonated with me. It was all about how I lived & thought & loved & feared during the 1960s. Pat Conroy, please save the last dance for me... !!

Started re-reading The Great Santini today, for the fifth or sixth time, and decided to delve a bit more into the life of the author. I have read all of his books, I believe, and count him as not just one of the South’s greatest authors, but one of the greatest American authors.
His writing is so full of passion and misery and honesty, simply put, he compares favorably with any Nobel prize winner or other major award winner in my opinion.
I am sure he is entertaining the good folks in heaven with his stories.

I first read Pat Conroy in my high school English class when I was 16 years. We read The Prince of Tides. TPoT completely changed my life. Anyone who knows me knows my deep and great love for Pat Conroy.

There truly is something for everyone in his books. I love his floral vocabulary, descriptive imagery, writing style, and the way that Pat painted the most realistic and intricate depiction of the South. He knew the South Carolina that I had grown up in even though we grew up 50 years apart. Although he wrote about the South of his youth, I had seen the same things and felt similar ways. I thought being a Southerner was a shame, but I held on to Pat’s words and devoured his entire collection of work.

I tried to run from South Carolina. I moved to Los Angeles to study Fine Art and I brought Pat Conroy with me. Despite my attempt to reinvent myself and reject the place I grew up (doesn’t everyone do this in their late teens-early 20’s???), I realized the landscape of South Carolina haunted me. It came out in everything I did and in the art that I made/make.

I kept going back to Pat’s books- reading them as I maneuvered life in new places, through college and life after college, through loss, hardship, and love. I realized I longed to get back home to sweet South Carolina and when I really couldn’t bare it, I would settle into one of Pat’s books. His books continue to remind me why I love the landscape and magic of South Carolina. It’s been almost 10 years since I first read The Prince of Tides and I will never get over the beauty and truth that Pat breathed into the pages of his books. I wish I could have met him before he was gone.

I was devastated when he passed because I felt like I knew him, and I had come to truly love him like all of his readers do. Thank you, Pat, for your words. I am only 25 but you continue to change the way I see, love, create, and of course, read.

I miss new Pat Conroe books. There was nothing like getting his new hardback, opening it, smelling the paper and ink, and starting reading.