Patty’s two week diving vacation in 1979 to Andros Island, Bahamas changed into adoption proceedings when at 19, she decided to make the Bahamas home. She lived on Andros Island, the largest island in the Bahamas, until 1998 and then moved to the capital city, Nassau. She now lives on Paradise Island, a short walk away from the beach pirates once used to careen their ships in between ransacking the foreign fleets.

Patty cohabits with Sally, a rescue from the Bahamas Humane Society, whose British teeth, severe shedding problem, and allergy to Paradise Island cats deserves a special addendum in Dante’s Inferno. Like any island girl, she’s become a jack of all trades, master of none.