Patricia D West

Prior to becoming a personal historian aka memoirist, Pat West was a teacher and then a social worker for over 25 years, with a bachelor's degree in sociology and a master's degree in Human Resource Development. She also also developed and provided training in the social services field, in curriculum design, and in writing training and educational manuals. Most recently, she was the director of a therapeutic foster care agency in Chattanooga and Family Life Coach at Blue Monarch, a residential program for women.

Early in her social work career, Pat received specialized training in interviewing children and adults, completing assessments and individual and family histories, and has written or edited hundreds of family stories. She assisted children and adolescents on writing their Life Story Books, a therapeutic way of helping them deal with their lives. In addition to writing, Pat is an amateur photographer, and a special hobby has been touching up old family photos. She also enjoys giving back to the community and most recently have been a hospice volunteer and delivers meals for a local Meals on Wheels program.

Pat founded Tree of Life Memoirs in 2011 and “kicked it off” in 2012. Since then she has written and published seven memoirs/life stories, including one published on amazon.com. She does everything from interviewing, editing, book layout and design, and publishing. Her clients have expressed much pleasure at the results and she is determined to continue with her mission of exceeding client expectations. Previews are available on her website. Pat lives in Sewanee, Tennessee, with two dogs, two cats, and her husband, not necessarily in that order of importance.