Gathering: Family, Grief, Resilience
Patsy Truxaw’s family, bound by love but frayed by “bad wiring” faces the unthinkable when a car accident claims the life of one sibling at barely twenty-one years old. Set at the family home in Anaheim and migrating to communities along California’s coastline, Truxaw’s memoir explores the depths of grief, addiction, and mental illness while uncovering the fierce resilience that keeps a family connected. Through moments of loving chaos, heartbreak, and humor, Gathering reveals an enduring bond that transcends life’s harsh realities. With incisive storytelling and raw honesty, Truxaw’s book is a testament to the power of familial bonds in the face of unimaginable pain.
About the Author
Patsy Truxaw has been observing and writing about her Irish-Catholic (and partly Czech) family for fifty-plus years. The second of eight children and a baby boomer, Patsy believes she and her siblings inherited some good genes but bad wiring. The bad wiring, compounded by the sudden death of her college-age brother in 1969, is the impetus behind this, her first book. Along with being a lifelong writer, Patsy is a retired educator, a Democrat, and dog lover. She got sober one month after her fortieth birthday and remains active in recovery groups. Patsy lives in Los Osos, California, with her husband John Hansen and their two dogs, Belle and Max.
“She could hear the ocean anytime by opening a window or taking a short walk. I imagine her breathing deeply satisfying sighs of relief.”
Gathering is widely available to order at your local bookstore, from bookshop.org, on Barnes and Noble, Amazon and more.
What readers said
★★★★★
A beautifully written family saga. Loving and dysfunctional, this large Irish-American clan stays mostly together after an early tragedy (and its ramifications) threatens their way home.
Jean Callahan
★★★★★
Patsy Truxaw’s memoir GATHERING is a powerful family story, riveting in its honesty and heart-wrenching in the telling of one family’s tragic and devastating pain. It’s also a vivid picture of a big Catholic family during the boomer generation’s youth in the 1950s-‘70s, authentic and often humorous. The resilience of Patsy and her family throughout the decades after tragedy strikes in 1969 is a testament to the power of a family’s roots, and the relentless search for health, forgiveness, and unconditional love.
—Author of THE LIFE YOU GET, forthcoming Fall 2025
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Gathering Ebook now available
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