Credentials

Author, Poet and Publisher

Who's Who in America 2002-2005

Available for seminar presentations

Books

They Came Home: Korean War POWs Tell Their Stories

Letters from Korea : A Story of the Korean War

Tommy’s War

The Agèd Tree Stands Proud: I See New Beauty Found

Publications

 Missouri Life and Ozark Mountaineer magazines  

MEMBERSHIPS

Missouri Writer's Guild

Ozarks Writer's League

Education

MA, Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri - Kansas City

BA, Business Administration and English, Colorado College

Life

Today I cry for what might have been,

for dreams that are plundered by reality.

Tomorrow I’ll accept and move on

building a new dream in what is.

My last two books have related the personal experiences of those who fought for our country.  They are heroes, but they see themselves as ordinary citizens.  As a group they are patriotic and have faith in their God, family and friends.  Their political views differ from generation to generation and from person to person.  But that is part of the freedom they so valiantly fought to preserve.  Whether they enlisted or were drafted, they did what had to be done, and in most wartime cases, what they were in no way prepared to do.

I have a great respect for them and I want to tell as many of their stories as I can.  Those who experienced battles, suffered pain and horror.  Those who were captured were subjected to conditions we can’t even imagine.  None were truly prepared, but those who survived attribute their good fortune to hope and faith.

I am currently working on a book that will tell the stories of about 125 ex-POWs, most of them from WWII.  I am also working on an anthology of stories about veterans of all wars.

 PRAISE FOR PAT MCGRATH AVERY'S WORK:

They Came Home:

"This readable book recounts the experiences of three POWs, Billy Joe Harris, Ed Slater and Carey Weinel.  The book is easy to read, but the men's experiences are not easy to read about.  Avery tells their stories in graphic detail, just as they told them to her.  Avery uses an interesting technique to complement the stories:  a series of sidebars early in the book that provide some informational insights into the Korean War.  More importantly, the book raises some interesting questions about allied prisoners of war in Korea.

Avery's stories about the prisoners are riveting.  For example, the author points out the dichotomy in the way villager's treat POWs. In one narrative, Ed Slater mentioned on a couple of occasions as the prisoners were escorted through villages, some would ridicule them while others would try to give them food at personal risk...For some, the nightmares never ended.  That was the case of Harris, Slater and Weinel.  It is entirely possible that readers of They Came Home may develop nightmares themselves after finishing the book. That, however, is a small price to pay to learn what some people went through to keep us free." -- Art Sharp, Editor of The Graybeards Magazine

 The Aged Tree Stands Proud:

 "The Aged Tree Stands Proud is a unique and memorable collection of poetry in which Pat McGrath Avery chronicles the emotional journey of having to deal with the loss of a loved one." -- Midwest Book Review