If by Some Impossible Miracle

An award-winning artist who was featured in Humans of New York, conveys his life experience in a bold collection of essays addressing family trauma, addiction, poverty--and how a passion to create art moved him beyond his struggles.

Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1963, Patrick grew up in the midst of some of the most turbulent and culturally impactful periods of NYC's history. Often neglected as a child by his parents--a father who struggled with alcohol addiction and an overworked mother who struggled to make ends meet--he learned to fend for himself. Now a renowned visual artist, musician, actor and writer, Dougher brings to the page his memories, his struggles, personal revelations, and a life intimately tied to the realities of growing up Black and disenfranchised on the streets of one of the most remarkable cities in the world.

If by Some Impossible Miracle is tragic and triumphant, gritty and hard, poetic and outrageously funny. Told in Dougher's brutally raw and courageously honest voice, these stories act as snapshots of a life lived in extremes; from gangsters to God, street style to sexuality, fights and broken bones, to recovery from drug addiction and alcoholism. He tells of his adventures as a pre-hip hop "hard rock' and an original Black punk rocker surviving during the dangerous days of the crack and AIDS epidemic in NYC, while also sharing tales of racism, homelessness, and his many brushes with fame and death.

Audacious, unique, and sometimes surprising, If by Some Impossible Miracle is an unmatched collection offering stories from a life filled with laughter and tears that came together to create an artist.

Patrick Dougher is a self-taught fine artist, musician, poet, and actor. He has performed and recorded with Sade, the Grammy award-winning Dan Zanes, Black Uhuru's Michael Rose, Steel Pulses' David Hinds, and Hip Hop star Chuck D of Public Enemy. His art has been featured in numerous exhibitions, as well as on television shows including The First Wives Club and Riches. He created the cover art for the reissues of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God (Amistad) and The Miseducation of the Negro by Carter Woodson (Penguin Random House), and illustrated the children's book Hold Them Close by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow (HarperCollins). His visual art can be seen on his website, www.godbodyart.com.

• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
  Publish Date: April 29, 2025
  Pages: 368
  Dimensions: 0.0 X 0.0 X 0.0 inches | 0.0 pounds
  Language: English
  Type: Hardcover
  EAN/UPC: 9780316571029
  BISAC Categories: Cultural, Ethnic & Regional - African American & Black - Personal Memoirs