Buckle up (Paperback) | Released: 20 Oct 2016

In 1950, Patrick Curran joins a large Irish Catholic family in Los Angeles, California. He eases through the idyllic fifties, (the first television generation), fights for stability and clarity in the turbulent sixties, (with assassinations, race riots and the Vietnam War) and then takes flight in the psychedelic seventies. (with student demonstrations, hippies and the drug induced golden age of rock and roll) He reflects on his generation's reaction and his own reactions to the events of the day and travels the world to find peace and authenticity. He finds temporary solace living in several communes but finally lands in Kodiak, Alaska to start his career and his instant family. His journey ends in Northern California where he shares the lessons he's learned with his children and his clients as a Marriage and Family Therapist.
About the Author: Patrick has visited over 35 countries. He still travels extensively. He lived on a commune in Israel for two months during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and on the Stephen Gaskin's commune in Tennessee for 6 months in 1974-75. He taught school in grades K -12 for 25 years in Alaska, and California. He was a part of the Christian School movement in the 80's and the Home School movement of the 90's. He raised a family of nine children and had to suffer through a painful divorce in 1997. He saw his weakness of being too dependent on the love of one individual and his family and wanted to become a more multifaceted individual. He went back to school several times to become a school counselor and a school administrator and then a therapist. He became a Marriage and Family Therapist in 2006 and specializes in couples therapy and individual therapy especially with youth. Prior, he was an avid bicyclist, basketball player, coach and kayaker but added motorcycle cruising, took 30 hours of airplane flight lessions until he ran out of money, bought a catamaran and started sailing then became hooked on sailing. He sails in the San Francisco bay on his 30 foot Santana sailboat. He became a home brewer and has brewed 45 batches. He created a website for his private practice: family-counseling-therapy.com. And now he has written the story of his life for his kids grandkids. He is a Christian and uses Biblical principles as part of his therapeutic outlook and treatments. He is a Bareboat certified sailor and joined other family members on a week long cruise through the British Virgin Islands last summer. He wants to eventually spend half the year sailing the west coast of North America and the Caribbean Sea and sail the Great American Loop. The other half of the year will be spent visiting his kids and grandkids and continue with his private practice.