Remedies

"Remedies" is a deeply original autobiographical fiction that chronicles the lives of five generations of women. Patricia has a lovely way of approaching her own work which is intimate and deeply empathic to the power of language. It is evident from page one that her writing erupts from a place of necessity. It is beautifully layered and brought to life through image-driven vignettes that have been paired down into razor-sharp scenes. The stories convey tragedy and comedy in equal portions. Wombs and halos, mothers and daughters; the story is circular-the beginning has a before, and the ending is not the end. At the bottom of most pages Patricia has created a parallel existence that consists of incantations, proverbs, and recipes that provide another layer of running commentary. Patricia is emerging as a writer confident and skillful in the subtle art of hybrid writing.