When my brother died, very suddenly, I had to clear out his house. I had to sift through box after box of letters, papers, photos and belongings, not just of Tom’s, but of our parents and our older sister, Caroline.

Those boxes told the story of our family: of my sister’s mental illness, my brother’s struggles with anxiety and my own ups and downs, ranging from cancer to dramatic romantic failures. Outside, the Sky is Blue was selected by The Bookseller as their non-fiction Book of the Month and was a Times/Sunday Times Best Summer Read. You can read The Bookseller‘s interview with me here and order the book here.

Here are some reviews and responses:

“A bracing, heart-lifting read. Patterson is a superb writer – part of the redemptive message of this memoir is that beautiful prose can make almost anything bearable. Outside the Sky is Blue is a lesson in generosity, in accommodation, but most of all it’s a lesson in resilience” ― Alex Preston, The Observer

“Written with savage honesty about grief and sibling rivalry, this book slices deeply. A memoir about family loyalty and gut-wrenching goodbyes but it serves too as a wise guide from someone who has endured more than her share of life’s slings and arrows, and has still come out swinging” ― Laura Pullman, Sunday Times 

“A compelling memoir of faith, hope and loss. Her beautifully written and insightful account of a family living with mental and physical ill health” ― Daily Express

“A hymn to optimism, and a beacon of unflagging hope” ― Nick Duerden, iPaper

“A memoir about the loss of faith and hope. The book journeys to dark places but it’s too honest and well written to be dispiriting – she perseveres in her quest to understand” ― Blake Morrison, The Guardian

“A superbly told, heart-buffeting memoir – a powerful account of how we carry the distress that life’s blows cause to us; of how we keep sane and carry on; and of how love within a family can endure even the sternest tests” ― Bookseller, Book of the Month

“I read this beautiful and exceptional book in one sitting‘”― Kate Mosse, author of Labyrinth

“Moving and ultimately uplifting and beautifully written” ― David Nicholls, author of One Day

#books #memoir #mentalhealth #familymemoir