In Light and In Shade is the inspirational true story of a love that refused to die, even after death. It is the first-hand account of extraordinary events that happened to an ordinary woman.
Before her husband died prematurely, Patricia Irvine was skeptical about spiritual matters. However, driven by grief and fear over a feud concerning the family business, she decided to seek the advice of a medium. Shortly afterwards, inexplicable things began to happen to challenge her beliefs. As Patricia awakened spiritually, so her husband was able to reach beyond the grave to help his widow achieve justice for her and their young family in a court battle that made legal history.
Based on the journals Patricia kept throughout this time, this memoir describes the author's amazing journey from non-believer to finding her true destiny, healing through words. In a troubled and turbulent world, In Light and In Shade raises important points about religion, God, and the true meaning of spirituality. It is a story anyone seeking answers to the big questions about life and death should read.
About the Author: Patricia Irvine has always written for pleasure. Prior to being widowed in 1996, while rearing her three young sons, Patricia studied photography to LRPS level. Encouraged and facilitated by her generous-hearted husband, she travelled widely and has previously had travel articles published in magazines accompanied by her own photography. Now that she has more time, Patricia hopes, once again, to focus on combining her written work with her photography.
Following the spiritual 'wake up' call prompted by the untimely death of her husband in 1996, Patricia had a break from writing. However, poetry unexpectedly became a new factor in her life, resulting in a substantial body of work, spanning many years. Her work includes poetry with a spiritual theme and, as a confident public speaker; she has been invited to read her poems at spiritual gatherings, funerals, weddings, and other occasions. One of Patricia's poems 'A Gift for Betty Shine' was published in Shine On: Visions of Life, ed. Janet Shine, published by HarperCollins UK, 2003.
In 2005, Patricia was commissioned to write and record a book of children's poetry by the Sichuan University Press (China) and, around that time, was also asked to record a CD version of a phonetics and phonology book for them. She was also commissioned to write poems, for artist Tay Kiam Hong's exhibitions 'Sea Creatures 11' and 'Ocean Heartbeats' used in his brochures (8-19 November 2008) and displayed at the Muse House, Katong, Singapore. She has been asked to write for his next exhibition in 2020. In addition, Patricia has penned three books of poetry; two of children's rhymes and a series of 14 books for her young grandchildren, under the umbrella title of, The Naughty Magic Parrot, (for which she is seeking a publisher).
Since her spiritual awakening, Patricia has spent a number of years turning her journals of that very difficult period into this book, In Light and In Shade. In June 2018, she was interviewed by Spirit & Destiny magazine in the UK, resulting in a three page article about her story. Westfield, Patricia's home which features prominently in the book, also appeared in articles by The Sunday Times in 2014 and Devon Life, in November 2012.
