Diary of a Dog Patcher

Diary of a Dog Patcher is a bold and emotionally gripping memoir about surviving generational trauma, addiction, grief, and silence-and choosing to break the cycle.

Raised by her grandparents in a working-class Ohio neighborhood called "Dog Patch," Casey Lee Carpenter was born into a legacy of pain few dared to name. Her memoir traces a life shaped by abandonment, violence, mental illness, and loss-but also by resilience, deep love, and a fierce determination to heal.

Told with raw honesty, sharp insight, and unexpected humor, Diary of a Dog Patcher takes readers on a journey through childhood survival, motherhood, caregiving, and the everyday bravery of rebuilding after collapse. Along the way, Casey challenges cultural silence around trauma and invites readers to reckon with what we carry-and what we can choose to set down.

For fans of memoirs like The Glass Castle and Educated, this is a story of truth-telling, cycle-breaking, and claiming the future as your own.