Patsy: A Novel

Written by Nicole Dennis-Benn

Narrated by Sharon Gordon

When Patsy gets her long-coveted visa to America, it comes after years of yearning to leave Pennyfield, the beautiful but impoverished Jamaican town where she was raised. More than anything, Patsy wishes to be reunited with her oldest friend, Cicely, whose letters arrive from New York steeped in the promise of a happier life and the possible rekindling of their young love. But Patsy's plans don't include her overzealous, evangelical mother-or even her five-year-old daughter, Tru.

Beating with the pulse of a long-withheld confession, Patsy gives voice to a woman who looks to America for the opportunity to choose herself first-not to give a better life to her family back home. Patsy leaves Tru behind in a defiant act of self-preservation, hoping for a new start. But when Patsy arrives in Brooklyn, America is not as Cicely's treasured letters described; to survive as an undocumented immigrant, she is forced to work as a bathroom attendant and nanny. Meanwhile, Tru builds a faltering relationship with her father back in Jamaica, grappling with her own questions of identity and sexuality.

Expertly evoking the jittery streets of New York and the languid rhythms of Jamaica, Patsy weaves between the lives of Patsy and Tru in vignettes spanning more than a decade as mother and daughter ultimately find a way back to one another.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highbridge Company
• Release date: Jul 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9781684419821

Nicole Dennis-Benn

Nicole Dennis-Benn has received fellowships from Hedgebrook, MacDowell, Lambda and the Sewanee Writers Conference. Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, she lives with her wife in Brooklyn, New York, where she teaches writing. In 2018, she was named as an NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Fiction, awarded by the New York Foundation for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts. Here Comes the Sun is her first novel. It won the Lambda Literary Award, and was a finalist for the NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award and the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize. www.nicoledennisbenn.com

Reviews for Patsy

[Diamond · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this novel. I learned about some traditions that I’ve heard of that this book confirmed. I expected a bit more action, but nonetheless, well done! I’m glad that Patsy and her daughter were able to work through the differences. Such a sad reality of many immigrants coming to America for the American dream.

[Jamie Anmac · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I didn’t want the story to end. Feel in love with the characters.

[Tanasia Hazelton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Starts somewhat slow and can be hard to empathize w a mom who leaves her child for their lover but incredible storytelling, narration, and writing. Gorgeous work❤️ I loved it❤️ #TrueJuicefortheWIN ❤️?

[Bianca Calloway · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great coming of age book for the young and the old.

[Jenny deHart · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This novel unfolds over a decade of emotional changes for the characters against the backdrop of cultural changes in two countries. The story will wrap you up and have you crying and smiling in hope.