David Fitzpatrick

David Fitzpatrick was born in Dearborn, Michigan, grew up in Guilford, Connecticut, graduated from Skidmore College, and earned his MFA degree from Fairfield University in 2011. His work has been published by The New Haven Review, Barely South Review, Perch, Fiction Weekly, and Running Wild Press. He lives in Middletown, Connecticut his wife, Amy.

David’s first book – Sharp: My Story of Madness, Cutting and How I Reclaimed my Life – is a highly acclaimed, riveting memoir. A chance encounter with Wally Lamb helped him find his voice as a writer. The story is told best in CT Magazine:

"He [Wally Lamb] struck up a conversation that David Fitzpatrick, 46, can recall word for word today. The novelist, as he has done with so many others, encouraged him to write. At the time, David was far from finished with treatment. He was still [harming] himself with razor blades—his only way to find temporary relief from torment. In all, David would spend much of 17 years as, in his words, ‘a professional mental patient,’ with more than 30 institutionalizations. With Wally’s encouragement, David, a graduate of Skidmore College, began to write. He eventually found a therapist, Dr. Tom Landino, who effectively wove literature (Twain, Rabelais, Cheever) into David’s treatment. Even so, it was a long, slow process to recovery, and to finding his voice as a writer.”

After the publication of his memoir Sharp: My Story of Madness, Cutting and How I Reclaimed my Life, David and Amy became active Mental Health Advocates. David’s fiction addresses the critical themes of mental illness and sexual identity of young adults. There are a number of readily available resources for those in need of support.