Where Vulnerability Meets Creativity: Meet Patty Ihm
Patty Ihm has lived a life filled with stories, some spoken, some written, and some carried quietly in her heart. As a writer, former teacher, and beekeeper raising a large and vibrant family on an Illinois farmette, her path is anything but ordinary. Yet, it’s in the ordinary moments of life—those flashes of joy, sorrow, and reflection—that Patty finds her creative fuel. Through her writing, she transforms vulnerability into art, offering readers a space to connect with their own humanity.
“I believe we write what we know,” Patty says. “It’s what’s inside of you, bursting to come out, that will mean the most when it is translated to the written word.”
Her work isn’t just a creative outlet; it’s an extension of her life. From parenting and fostering to tending bees and chickens, Patty’s world is a canvas, and her words paint a picture of resilience, authenticity, and the messy beauty of life.
The idea of writing as a form of self-expression has been with Patty since her high school days when she found solace in a creative writing class. It was there that her teacher offered a piece of advice that still resonates with her:
“When you fall, write about it, and then bleed.” Patty recalls, “Though I wasn’t much for talking in front of others, I learned here that I had a voice which could be just as effective in a different medium.”
This discovery marked the beginning of her journey as a writer—one rooted in vulnerability and the courage to face her emotions head-on.
Over the years, writing has been both a refuge and a means of processing life’s complexities. During her college semester abroad, she filled journals with thoughts about homesickness, despair, and moments of wonder. Later, as a young mother, Patty continued to write, finding that it helped her navigate the emotional highs and lows of parenting.
“Writing became therapeutic, and as our family grew with fostering and adoption, it became a necessary release,” she explains.
Her journals evolved into a blog, which eventually led to her first book, Isn’t That Enough? Musings of Motherhood and the Meaning of Life.
For Patty, the act of writing is inherently tied to emotion.
“It is in my most vulnerable times that the words flow, often with the tears,” she shares.
Whether she’s writing poetry, journaling, or crafting fiction, her words are a response to life’s challenges and triumphs. In moments of pain or uncertainty, writing becomes a form of catharsis, allowing her to process emotions she can’t always articulate in the moment.
Her debut novel, Goldie Bird, embodies this intersection of vulnerability and storytelling. A middle-grade book with universal appeal, it follows an eleven-year-old girl navigating a year of loss, wonder, and self-discovery.
“Hard things happen to Goldie. Good things happen to her, too. She’s just like the rest of us, and I hope she can help her readers remember that even though difficult things happen, there is also a whole lot of good,” Patty says.
The theme of balancing hardship with hope is central to Patty’s work, but it’s not something she forces; it’s simply how she approaches life.
“This life is not supposed to be easy. Hard things are supposed to happen,” she says. “They happen to all of us in as many different ways as there are people in this universe.”
Yet Patty’s writing doesn’t dwell on despair—it seeks to find meaning, growth, and connection in those moments.
Patty’s journey as a writer is also deeply shaped by her identity. As a mother to three biological children, six adopted children, and 18 foster children, her life is a tapestry of relationships, each bringing its own challenges and joys. These experiences naturally influence her storytelling, weaving themes of family, resilience, and love into her work.
“Those who have known me would surely recognize bits of things that have meant something to me as they read what I have written,” she notes.
But Patty also recognizes that every reader brings their own perspective to a story.
“We all look for parts of ourselves in what we read. I believe that’s why we are destined to share our work, so others may do the same,” she says.
Her writing invites readers to see themselves in her characters, to find solace in shared experiences, and to feel less alone in their struggles.
One of the most profound lessons Patty has learned as a writer is the importance of authenticity. She knows that not everyone will connect with her work, and she’s okay with that.
“People will either be drawn to my work or they will not be,” she says. “We don’t get to choose how others react to our art. This struck me as pure truth and the best reason to release your work—because it means something to you.”
This commitment to authenticity is what makes Patty’s stories so relatable and impactful. She doesn’t write for validation or approval; she writes because it’s her way of making sense of the world. Whether she’s writing about the chaos of raising children, the quiet beauty of tending bees, or the inner struggles of a fictional character, her work is always grounded in truth.
“In my most vulnerable times, the words flow,” Patty says. “There is a primal, cathartic release that comes as we are guided toward expression.”
This honesty is what makes her writing resonate, not just with those who know her personally, but with anyone who has ever felt the need to express their own truth.
Patty’s journey reminds us that storytelling isn’t just about putting words on a page—it’s about creating connections, finding meaning in our experiences, and sharing those moments with others. For Patty, writing is more than a creative outlet; it’s a way of life, a form of therapy, and a bridge to others who may find comfort in her words.
“I just hope that what I write helps someone, somewhere,” Patty says.
And through her work, she continues to prove that even in life’s most challenging moments, there is beauty, growth, and a story worth telling.
About Patty Ihm:
Patty Ihm is a writer, former early intervention therapist, and teacher living in Illinois on a farmette where she is a mother to many; three biological, six adopted, and 18 children she and her husband have offered their home to as foster parents—some for a day and some to stay forever. Her debut middle-grade, coming-of-age novel, Goldie Bird, was published in 2024 by Our Galaxy Publishing. She is also the author of Isn’t That Enough? Musings of Motherhood and the Meaning of Life, a memoir published by Our Galaxy Publishing in 2022, and Ode to a Boy, a self-published work dedicated to her now-grown sons.
Fueled on coffee and the soul-cleansing therapy of the written word, Patty tends to thirty-something chickens, a mix of hens and roosters, nine bee hives, and a thriving garden. In the quiet parts of the day (and sometimes amidst the chaos of life), Patty finds pockets of time to write and share her experiences with others.
About Goldie Bird:
“We were both quiet for a while. I mostly just looked out the window. I wondered why Kate had mentioned the idea of my dad. She did, though, know what it was like to wonder and to try to understand why parents do the things that they do. Maybe she was thinking about her dad. Maybe our questions and sadness were all mixing together.”
Eleven-year-old Goldie’s world is changing fast, and most of it is out of her control. Loneliness overcomes her as her beloved sister, Elise, goes off to college, and the recent loss of her great aunt consumes her mother’s emotions. Goldie feels adrift and out of place.
But when she joins her mother for a trip to Heritage where her late aunt lived, Goldie forms an unlikely friendship with Kip, a sweet boy with an infectious sense of adventure. Kip shows Goldie the carefree thrills of birch bending and secret caves where the two bond over common experiences and escape the complexities of the adults around them.
As she reluctantly returns to her life, Goldie must adjust to being a middle schooler as things at home become more challenging. Despite her deep love for her sister and mother, Goldie feels unsure of where she fits in their lives, forcing her to grapple with the bittersweet aspects of growing up and letting go of the way things used to be.
With her frequent letters from Kip and her new friend, Kate, by her side, Goldie tries to navigate all that comes her way on the quest for acceptance and belonging. Goldie symbolizes the universal experience of deep familial connections, friendship, and self-identity in this timeless, coming-of-age novel.
About Isn’t That Enough? Musings of Motherhood and the Meaning of Life:
“This is a story of my family, and, really, the story of many families. It’s everyone’s story because we’re all human. We all experience the depths of true emotion as we are led along the path of our days. And maybe, we all end up back where we first began.”
Patty Ihm knows a thing or two about chaos. She’s laid with the disarray that ensues in the trenches of motherhood, pondered questions of worthiness when she thought no one was listening, and ruminated in the dark as she examined the things that present themselves in the shadows. But she’s also learned to find the glory in ungracious things, the power of surrendering to that which is uncontrollable, and the truth in knowing what she loves will always come back to her.
Isn’t That Enough? Musings of Motherhood and the Meaning of Life is a memoir that openly discusses the challenges and revelations in parenting the children that have come to Patty’s family through the child welfare system. Her journal entries take readers through various snapshots in time and space where she stirs in the vulnerable complexities of life and the emotions that encourage her to embrace all that may always be unknown.
It stays with you like a guiding light on your shoulders; empathizing and validating, calling you to lean into your introspective thoughts, supporting you to lead with the heart. Patty cuts her words free, vividly inviting you into her world as she expounds upon the revelations of her past to appreciate the beauty of all that is to come.
Our Galaxy Publishing is an all-in-one solution for aspiring authors, offering them the education, tools, and resources they need to write, edit, publish, design, and market their books. We assist authors at all levels of their publishing journey, whether they’re looking for a literary agent to traditionally publish, are going all-in on their self-publishing venture, or are unsure of which book publishing path to take. We are a service-based platform, meaning all the creative power stays in the writers’ hands. No long-term agreements or contracts, no splitting royalties, and no sharing of your intellectual property. You tell us your aspirations and goals, and we’ll guide you to making them happen through our publishing services and author workshops.