Same Red Dirt

by Pat Conrad

When as a young man Pat Conrad gave up a good job and left the United States in search of greener pastures in Australia, he didn’t know what he would find—or even if he would come back at all. During the next thirteen months, his freewheeling spirit and thirst for adventure brought him in contact with a parade of unforgettable characters. With refreshing honesty and a keen wit, Same Red Dirt recounts Pat’s experiences working at Sydney’s infamous Callan Park Mental Hospital, where he spent time among some of the world’s most criminally insane; his escape to the sandy beaches near Sydney; his hair-raising experiences down the red dirt roads of Australia’s rugged Outback; and his series of unusual jobs as he made his way throughout the country. In this “R-rated Christian memoir,” Pat shares how his bad choices along the way, and his desire to fill a hole in his heart, led to a major change in his life.

204 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 18, 2018

About the author

Born and raised in Daytona Beach, Florida, Pat Conrad graduated from Seabreeze High School in 1967 and a year later, moved to the red dirt hills of Georgia. Although his intense love for the beach will never die, Pat and his family have all adopted north Georgia as their home, where Pat is an avid outdoorsman. Pat lives with his wife Vicki and has two grown children, Zack and Charity, and five beautiful grandchildren. Currently, he and Vicki enjoy living in the country outside of Toccoa, Georgia. They are both active at Toccoa Christian Church, where Pat serves as an elder.

Reviews

[Elizabeth Bentley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pat, I really enjoyed reading your adventure and your path to Jesus Christ.

The excitement leading to the next story never stops. Couldn't stop reading. Besides knowing Pat from high school, and always thinking of him as a great guy, I was impressed that he had the courage to take that trip. Well told memoir.

[Viga Boland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Same Red Dirt by Pat Conrad is one of those memoirs that will resonate with different readers for different reasons. Those who look back on their youth and remember the silly, sometimes dangerous things they did, decisions they made without considering the consequences, will certainly relate to Pat Conrad’s sudden whim as a young adult to up and leave his boring job as an airline baggage handler in Florida to travel overseas to Australia in search of greener grass ... only to find in the long run the 'Same Red Dirt' he left back home. Those who look at their lives as a constant search for happiness, during which time they did what some would consider sinful i.e. indulging in drugs and sex just as an end in themselves, and ultimately came to the realization that happiness lies in finding God, will relate to the latter part of Same Red Dirt after Conrad returned to the US.

The rest of us won’t search for meanings, but will simply enjoy reading some of the eye-popping experiences Conrad had while working in a mental hospital in Sydney for 8 months. I don’t know how many times I stopped and thought, “Eek! How do the nurses and aides stand working in a place like that with patients like these? That takes fortitude and stomachs that few of us have!” It was amazing that Conrad, who wasn’t trained for such work, lasted as long as he did. And no one would blame him for being ecstatic to finally get on the road to do what he came to Australia for: see the country, enjoy some Aussie girls, get a taste of the Aussie lifestyle along with some Aussie pot and, well, live like a hippie for as long as it appealed. After all, it’s only after you do something like Conrad did that you can look back and say, “Maybe I did some things I shouldn’t have, but life is all about learning and finding ourselves in the process.” And that is what Pad Conrad did in Same Red Dirt. The style is conversational and friendly. Conrad laughs at himself and we laugh with him. Those who take the time to read Same Red Dirt might find a bit of themselves in Conrad’s memoir.

©Viga Boland
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[jackmagnus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Same Red Dirt: A Comical Memoir is a nonfiction travel memoir written by Pat Conrad. It was the spring of 1971, and Conrad had decided to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. He’d cross the globe and explore life Down Under. Fresh out of high school, he had been working for Delta Airlines as a baggage handler and had enjoyed not only a decent wage that allowed him to sock away some savings, but travel discounts, which were offered as a perk. Conrad had grown up in Daytona Beach and loved the beach where he had worked summer as a lifeguard. So, Australia’s endless shores and sandy beaches were a powerful lure after three long years in a job that entailed disorienting rotating shifts and a dress code that was decidedly at odds with the prevailing counter-culture of the time. Conrad’s accrued vacation time would allow him to plan a vacation that included him giving notice after he left. After twenty hours of flying, he arrived in Sydney, where his new life began.

Pat Conrad’s nonfiction travel memoir, Same Red Dirt: A Comical Memoir, is an engaging and well-written account of a most unforgettable year abroad. The author gives the reader snapshots in time of Daytona, Sydney and those roads he traveled while in Australia. I was particularly interested in the time he spent working as a male nurse in the Callan Park Mental Hospital. His portraits of the various inmates he worked with are sympathetic and perceptive, and people who one would ordinarily shy away from, because of their not-so-conventional behavior, are revealed as being infinitely human. The time spent on the roads, picking produce and living on his wits, are likewise compelling and entertaining reading. I’ve always been fascinated by the Land Down Under and had a grand time experiencing this through Conrad’s eyes. Same Red Dirt: A Comical Memoir is most highly recommended.

[Annemarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite

Same Red Dirt by Pat Conrad is a comical memoir of Pat’s journey. When he was a young man, Pat chucked his job and set off on a long journey to Australia, not knowing what he would find. He wasn’t even sure he would make it back to the USA. Over the course of the next 13 months, he encountered situations and characters that he would never forget. For a while, he worked in the Callan Park Mental Hospital in Sydney, where some of the most criminally insane people are housed. He visited long sandy beaches and traveled the outback, finding nothing but the same red dirt for miles. He made bad choices, he made good ones, and this is his story.

Same Red Dirt: A Comical Memoir by Pat Conrad is a bit of an eyeopener. Although there are tons of ex-pats living in different countries, the percentage is small in real-world terms; there aren’t that many people who have the guts to throw in the towel and set off on an adventure – I did it and so did Pat. This is a highly amusing and moving tale of his experiences along his journey as he tries to find himself. We watch Pat grow as he travels, as he learns and takes in new experiences, and the difference in his maturity from start to finish is astounding. It just shows what a bit of life experience can do for the soul! His courage is to be commended and I truly enjoyed following his story, experiencing his ups and downs and the good and the bad. Pat has written this in such a way that you can’t help but be transported into his life and, if nothing else, it should awaken a bit of wanderlust in people. A year isn’t so long and there is much to see and learn; Pat teaches us that with a mixture of humor and humility. Thanks for inviting us along on the ride, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

[Jane Finch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Same Red Dirt: A Comical Memoir by Pat Conrad relates the travels and experiences of the author as he searched for fulfilment. Believing that monotony of life was the reason for his general restlessness and dissatisfaction, Pat Conrad gave up the security of a regular job and the comfort of a Florida home to travel to Australia. Without a basic plan to provide for his travels, Pat found himself working in a notorious mental hospital, where he learned to deal with troubled and aggressive patients, nearly had his ears bitten off, and learned to appreciate the sanity of others after a series of harrowing experiences. Pat eventually hits the road to explore the big, wild country and relates his experiences, but ultimately realises that what he is seeking is not in another country or another culture, but in his heart and spirit.

The author, Pat Conrad, tells his story with deadpan humour in that the bizarre situations he found himself in could almost be an expected part of his everyday life. A large part of the book centres on his experiences in the mental hospital, but these, together with all that he endures whilst trying to find happiness and contentment, eventually bring him to the realisation that what he is really searching for is fulfilment within. When he returns to his home country, he looks at everything in a different light, and through contact with a priest his brother introduces him to, eventually becomes a Christian and finds all he is looking for in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Well written with wry humour.

[Katie Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book was fun to read - Pat’s story is one that is quite unique!! He has a funny, amazing way of forming stories that made the read fast and enjoyable.

However, there was a fair amount of cussing and sex that I was not prepared for - but I am so glad for Pat’s vulnerability in sharing his past. It reminds me of John 3:20-21, which says, “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes to the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” I think I would have liked to hear more about how specifically God worked in his life and drew Pat closer to the Lord - and even how he met Vicki, his wife!

Praise the Lord for His mercy and grace in drawing Pat to the Lord. Thank you Pat, for sharing your story!