Born in New England of a New Jersey Catholic mother and Iranian Moslem father,
Patti was unsure about who she was. The adults in her childhood, those who might have helped, left her more confused than
enlightened. After exploring various religions and traditions - none of which truly spoke to her soul - Patti questioned if
there really was a God. Not finding answers that satisfied her, she became an agnostic.
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When she was twenty-eight, Patti developed cancer.
Feeling that she had a brush with death propelled Patti to question her purpose in life, as well as her sense of place in
the world. She began a search for a spirituality that would make sense to her logical, analytical mind. After surviving the
cancer, Patti began to relive the pain of being abandoned by her mother at nine and forced to relocate to Iran.
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Years later, following a vivid dream,
Patti opened The Light Spot bookstore and coffeehouse in San Diego. There she encountered a host of fascinating people
who prompted her to question her beliefs about herself and her assumptions about others. As Patti grew spiritually, the gap
between her and her Persian husband widened. In 1989 she left her husband and guided by visions and her inner voice, moved
to the Big Island of Hawaii. For the next two years, Patti danced in a hula halau and joined women's spirituality groups.
Her intuition and desire for a life partner guided her to meet and later marry her true soulmate, Mark Coates. Together they
began a new life.
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In
2002, Patti had a new crisis of faith when she was suddenly afflicted with Bell's Palsy, a paralysis of one side of the face.
With both tradititional and holistic treatments, she was able to recover 60 - 70% of her facial muscles. More facial surgery
helped her to continue the healing. With this health crisis, Patti realized that she had to get off the fence, face her doubts
and fears, and fully commit to her spiritual path and higher purpose in life, however it may unfold. Rooted and happy in Hawaii,
her life is shaken up once again when she receives inner guidance to let go of ther career as a university program director
and become a writer. This terrified her then, and it terrifieds her now. In spite of Patti's doubts and fears, and after much
inner conflict and soul searching, she published God Outside the Box: A Story of Breaking Free. Patti
says, "A spiritual life is not about complacency and comfort and self-satisfaction, but the ability to accept and flow
with change."
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Today
Patti is finishing the novel Veil of Walls about a young feisty New Englander who grows up in pre-revolution
Iran. "To be a full time writer is strange after 34 years in the workaday world, but I'm following my inner guidance
to do this and that ALWAYS works out in the end." Patti and Mark enjoy life both in Hilo, Hawaii and Sedona, Arizona
while also living with their cat, Pixie.
