Looking Ahead Through The Rearview Mirror

Primary Book Cover
Available in Paperback & Ebook
ISBN: 979-8-9956066-0-4
Featured in Amazon's Top 5 New Releases On June 5th, 2026!

A life Remembered, A Voice Reclaimed

"Your Past May Shape You, But It Doesn't Have to Define You"

A memoir by Patricia Davis Armstrong sharing her life story with her daughter, Hope, detailing a journey from New Bern, North Carolina, through a career as a civil servant and aircraft mechanic, surviving the 9/11 attack at the Pentagon, and finding a second chance at love and music.

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About the Book

What readers will take away:
  • Strength forged through family challenges and change
  • Insight into how early life shapes who we become
  • A moving portrait of love, loss, and resilience

Looking Ahead Through the Rearview Mirror by Patricia Davis Armstrong is a heartfelt memoir of growing up in coastal North Carolina, where love, loneliness, and family upheaval shaped a young girl’s life.

As her parents’ marriage unravels, Patricia is forced to navigate independence, identity, and resilience at an early age. Through changing family dynamics, moments of loss, and personal reinvention, she reflects on the experiences that shaped her, and the strength it took to move forward.

Honest and deeply relatable, this story speaks to readers drawn to books about family dynamics, adult children making sense of their past, and parenting relationships. At its core, this is more than a memoir—it’s a story of healing, growth, and finding your way through life’s most uncertain chapters.

Winning Proof Unscripted Interview

"God Carried Her Through Love, Loss, and Healing" — From @WinningProofUnscripted

"What a life this woman has lived! It gives you perspective and a mindset to always stay positive, see the joys in what life has to offer, and to make lemonade out of lemons!"
— Catherine B. (Official Review on Amazon)

Patricia Davis Armstrong

Patricia Davis Armstrong

Published Author

Patricia, a native of Eastern North Carolina and retired civil servant in Southern Maryland, shares her life stories and lessons learned in this memoir. A dedicated community leader, she was named St. Mary’s County Woman of the Year in 2020 for her volunteer service and local impact as a founding member of the Garvey Center initiative.

Acoustic Singer-Songwriter

Through her creative channel @PatriciaUnpluggedLife, she shares acoustic guitar & singing performances with personal reflections that resonate deeply with her audience.

Featured Acoustic Performance

"When the Grass Grows Over Me" (George Jones Cover) — From @PatriciaUnpluggedLife

Media & Press Room

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Official Biographies
Short Bio (50 Words)

Patricia Davis Armstrong is an award-winning writer and retired civil servant known for her memoir Looking Ahead Through the Rearview Mirror. Honored as St. Mary’s County Woman of the Year in 2020, her work bridges deep personal resilience with community impact.

Long Bio (150 Words)

Patricia, a native of Eastern North Carolina and retired civil servant in Southern Maryland, shares her life stories and lessons learned in her acclaimed memoir. A dedicated community leader, she was named St. Mary’s County Woman of the Year in 2020 for her volunteer service and local impact. As a founding member of the Garvey Center initiative, she helped lead the effort to bring the Garvey Senior Activity Center and Library to life. Alongside her writing, she connects with audiences through acoustic music and heartfelt storytelling.

Podcast & Interview Toolkit
Name Pronunciation & Intro Patricia Davis Armstrong (30s clip)
Suggested Interview Q&As Click items to expand

I started by writing everything down in cursive on standard computer paper just to give my daughter a written record of my childhood and life memories.

Once I got a good amount typed up double-spaced, I realized, 'Could this actually be a book?' When I read back through it later, I actually cried. I thought—if it’s making me cry, it’s hitting emotions that will help other people at my stage of life realize that you made it, and you're still standing.

Right after a major loss, there is an incredible, terrifying fear of vulnerability, but faith and time heal your heart.

From losing my first full-term daughter to a stillbirth, to going through early-stage breast cancer, and the sudden passing of my husband of 38 years right in front of me—those lows test you. But my faith and knowing God is right there in your mind 24/7 helped me get through and see that we've all got emotional tools to survive.

You can't just run out to Walmart and buy a man, but God doesn't airdrop him to your door either—you have to stay involved in the community!

My late husband actually told me twice before he passed that I would find someone else. After time passed and my heart healed, Mike and I met through Facebook of all things. It was a crazy thing, but he and I both completely agree it was definitely directed by God.

Being in nature and staying active in the community is the most healing thing you can do.

I spent nine years as secretary for a grassroots board helping fund a new senior activity center and public library. Whether it's helping plant the native gardens out front or participating with the Friends of Garvey, staying productive and connected in retirement keeps you from feeling alone.

Don't edit as you go—just get it down on paper first, write in cursive with an ink pen, and don't worry about spelling or grammar.

I mostly wrote during the dark season between November and March because I love being outside in my flower garden. Break it up by decades, give your brain time to absorb the memories over time, and definitely get professional publishing help so you don't go down a poor dirt road with a lot of rocks!

It's a freeing kind of thing to be that transparent, and it allows people to know me on a much deeper level.

Writing it made me realize my lifespan and where I truly am in a typical lifespan at age 67. It makes you think about aging, stress in retirement, and how your priorities shift toward faith and legacy—leaving behind good roots and ethics like my parents and grandparents gave me.

I worked as a civilian at Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station in North Carolina for about 20 years before moving.

Through my career, I visited Patuxent River Naval Air Station multiple times for meetings. It had a rural, coastal feel around the water that reminded me of home, so my husband and daughter agreed to move along with me over the course of my 38 years of government service.

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