Jocelyn Patten

Jocelyn Patten grew up in Ottawa, Canada, a place that she still calls home. Coming from a family of five, she was made to believe she could do anything with her life. But, in the latter part of her teenage years her brain began to lead her down a dark path. Her brothers grew up and went on to success, while Patten was left at the starting gate, completely blocked. It took many years of mental illness, and many attempts to break through those gates, before she finally found the traction she needed: Hope. And, with that, she was out, her pace steady on forward, only occasionally falling back down into her voices of despair.

Jocelyn Patten lives in a neighbourhood alongside the moody Ottawa River. In the warmer months, her two cats Maggie and Birdy hang out on the screened-in porch, chasing squirrels from the comfort of rattan furniture. Patten is drawn to stories that explore identity through the lens of mental illness. She is working on a novel with a heroine who lives with bipolar disorder.