The Patron Saint of Dreams

by Philip Gerard

Meet the characters of essayist Philip Gerard’s a misguided sailor and his crew of rowdy teenage boys, an ancient nun, a nurse who believes the government has been secretly spreading the bubonic plague, a park ranger, jaded baseball players, a voice on a VHF radio far out to sea, a family of itinerant Mexicans camping dangerously in a dry riverbed, a famous alcoholic writer, and a few inexplicable ghosts. Gerard’s true stories are shot through with the uncanny and the mysterious―they are not quiet interior contemplations but instead are full of public events, remarkable encounters, life-and-death moments that both reveal and deepen the mysteries of our lives. The Patron Saint of Dreams is a collection of fifteen narrative essays that address events in the world through the lens of personal experience, moments when seemingly small decisions have large enduring the terror of a direct hit by a hurricane, hiking through bear country and suffering a heart attack, hearing a disturbing secret from a old soldier who has kept it for sixty years, discovering an imposter who maintains his dual life long after death. Told by one of the South’s most acclaimed and masterful nonfiction writers, these are the stories we live, and the lovely and terrible people who live them with us.

Genres: Essays

200 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2012

About the author

Philip Gerard is the author of 13 books, including The Last Battleground: The Civil War Comes to North Carolina. Gerard was the author of Our State's Civil War series. He currently teaches in the department of creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Reviews

[Crystal J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing. Authentic. Haunting. A clear author's voice on his life experiences or experiences near him. These short stories completely drew me in to his everyday world, mystified and anxious for more. I have read his novels, but this my first time reading his short stories. I was not disappointed. Each story left its mark on me, especially "Three Portraits of Grace". This entered my soul and wouldn't let go. It was difficult to put this book down.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid Southern-wrung short story collection, picked up on a trip to Spartanburg to visit Clay.

[Hayden Donahue · Rating 2 out of 5]

wouldn’t read again. that’s it.

[snaelat · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book was so bad ☠️