A believer’s journey
Patricia Dunnigan’s memoir opens dialogue on our own life
CONSTANCE BRISSENDEN
Memoirs are true stories of a person’s life. Many touch on the good points and gloss over the rest.
In How I Learned to Swear, by local resident Patricia Dunnigan, hard truths are shared without sugar coating. She traces her life from birth in Montreal, Quebec, to Nova Scotia, back to Quebec, and on to Alberta, a journey that is deeply influenced by her faith.
Dunnigan’s sharp memories of childhood show her to be a sensitive, caring person. Born into a staunch Roman Catholic family, she takes on the mantle of the good child, the good believer, the good wife and mother. Her life is selfless, because she feels it is her duty.
Simmering under the surface are tough lessons about her very existence. In her early years, the lessons are softened by the transcendent joy she feels in response to the beauty of nature. The lessons are tucked away, but not forgotten.
As her childhood turns into adulthood, Dunnigan must quit teachers’ college to care for her ailing mother and younger siblings. She feels this is the right thing to do. The sting of loss is added to the list of other sacrifices she makes in the name of duty.
None of the memoir suffers from the “poor me” syndrome. Straightforward and detailed, How I Learned to Swear is often humorous. At seven years old, living in Quebec, she hears her first swear word, spoken in French by her young playmate. And just like that, it pops out of her mouth at a family dinner. She gets a spanking; it’s a lesson learned.
A big family is on Dunnigan’s wish list. Married at 20 to a fellow Catholic believer, she and her husband set out to accomplish this. Six children later, not yet 33 years old, Dunnigan is increasingly aware of her powerlessness, both as a wife and as a member of her church.
There is comfort as well, as Dunnigan makes new friends in various communities. These friends begin to open doors for her with surprising results.
As a reader, I was drawn in by the progression of Dunnigan’s belief journey. I began to ask myself: What is going to happen? Will she stay with the beliefs she practiced since childhood? Will her husband change, or must she be the one? How did I feel about her growing awareness? Have my beliefs changed over time as well?
It would be unfair of me to give away the ending. Suffice to say, it comes with a sharp crack. Like so many aspects of our lives, change may not be what we planned or expected. But the right kind of change can also be blessed.
How I Learned to Swear by Patricia Dunnigan is available at The Carrot Community Arts Coffee House (9351 118 Ave) and Audreys Books (10702 Jasper Ave). Price is $20.
 | A guest post by
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I’m happy to write for Rat Creek Press, one of Edmonton last community newspapers. The quarterly tackles subjects that would not be covered in the mainstream press due to lack of availability, space, reporters, etc. But we can cover them locally and with great pleasure. Thank you to publisher Karen Mykietka, who founded the newspaper over 20 years ago and has kept it going in spite of all obstacles. It makes a huge difference to me as a writer to know that there is a place for me.