About the Author

Patricia Parlin Spaulding,

She prefers to be called Pat.  The only times she remembers being addressed as Patricia were when her name was enunciated in three distinct syllables (Pa-trish-a) and uttered in an exasperated tone by her mother after she had committed a grievous childhood error, (eg. pinching her sister and/or calling her Tiny Tot).

Pat grew up in Golden Valley, a suburb of Minneapolis.  After graduating from Valparaiso University, where she met her husband Doug, she attended the University of Minnesota and received a Master’s Degree in English.  Never having taught a day in her life, she assumed she could teach English to college students.  Somehow she did. 

And loved it.  For five years she taught Freshman Comp and a variety of literature courses at Concordia College in St. Paul, MN where she also served as Dean of Women, a title she hated, but a job she thoroughly enjoyed.

Several career changes later, she got a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology and a Ph.D. in Family Social Science and now works as a clinical psychologist in private practice in Minneapolis.

Pat and Doug have two adult sons (Bob and Steve) who live in the Twin Cities.  In the last year the family tree sprouted two new twigs in the form of Liam and Tate, two wonderful grandsons.

Since their house was completed, Pat has been trying to simplify her life in Minneapolis so she can spend more time on the island she has come to love.  She is still working up the courage to use pepper spray on a charging bear, should she ever encounter one.

Pat began writing about her experiences on Madeline Island in an introductory memoir class at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis.  She kept writing and taking classes and one day realized she was on her way to writing a book.  After helpful critiques from her writing groups and many rewrites, she was finally ready to publish.