About
Jocelyn Patten

One of my uncles told me that I didn’t need to go to university to be a writer. Instead, I needed to get on a boat and travel around the world. I never forgot his advice.  Thirty-five years is a long boat ride, but I finally made it to a safe and tranquil shore. 

For the last two-and-a-half years, I have experienced the gift of wellness after years of struggling with my mental health. During these recent years, I wrote a book called “Love and Theft: A Memoir of Mental Illness.”  I am now trying to figure out why this project in particular made it to the finish line, after so many others barely made it out of the starting gate, littering my past with half-cocked attempts. 

Today, I am focusing on another project: a work of fiction that has been running through my mind for a while now.  The story features a protagonist who lives with bipolar disorder.

As it goes for so many other people, each day I carefully put one foot in front of the other, which allows me to remain stable and on top of things. I live in Ottawa, Canada with my mum and two cats, Maggie and Birdy.