Unveilings, first published in 2004 and now in its 2nd edition, reveals the author's Middle East experiences during the 1970s and 80s, continues with Capitol Hill experiences including 9-11 when the author lived on Capitol Hill, and ends with a 21st Century view of the Iraq War and current events including the ISIS threat. During these years of global power shifts, the author's world view transformed from innocent to knowledgeable and far more sophisticated. In this world of new realities, she understood the threat to women's rights and to all human rights. As the author traversed a raw, desert land ruled by strict Sunni Islam, she realized the inevitable clash of cultures looming on the horizon. In the United States in 1973, Roe v. Wade ruled unconstitutional a state law that banned abortions; thereby strengthening women's rights and freedoms. In that same year, the Arab Oil Embargo greatly empowered the Saudi nation ruled by Sunni Islam as petrodollars poured into a nation with no respect for women or democracy. Storm clouds gathered on the horizon; women's rights were at the center of the storm. Middle East nations, one by one, fell under a black veil; and on September 11, 2001, the storm came to America. Now, in 2014, war rages in the Middle East; in America, women, once more, fight for women's rights and for all human rights.
About the Author: Patricia graduated from University of Maryland and received a Master of Arts degree from Duke University. She was married to Chester Taylor for twenty-eight years, a professional engineer (now deceased) with a long, successful, and distinguished career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Their children, Preston and Al, grew up living in the Pacific Rim, in Europe, and in the Middle East. Patricia's book details their years in Europe and the Middle East. In 1982, while living in Tel Aviv, Israel, Patricia and her husband each received Certificates of Achievement for "contributing to peace in the Middle East." Patricia's extensive knowledge of culture, science, religion, art, and politics, allows her to blend conflicting, and difficult parts of a project into a worthwhile and memorable success. Her skill and ability can be seen in the establishment of Florida's Timucuan National Preserve which she initiated in 1984 with U. S. Congressman Charles Bennett of Jacksonville, Florida who authored eight books on Timucuan Indian culture and early Florida history. While working as legislative assistant in his Washington office, Patricia drafted legislative language for the Legislative Counsel who wrote the bill. During the decade of the 90s, Patricia's legislative work covered the major issues of our time from health care reform to international events, taking her on investigative trips to the former Soviet Union, Africa, and Ecuador. After years of travel, Patricia relocated to her Florida home. Today she's a grandmother, writer, and artist. Some of her favorite pastimes include long walks on the beach and time spent with family and friends.