Every so often a story comes along that can transport, entertain, and teach lessons about life, courage, and overcoming our fears and demons. VARRICK'S DISTURBANCES is such a story, a novel about a boy and his anxieties, obstacles, passions, and faith. Anyone who's ever been pushed down by life's tragedies and cried out for help will find a kindred spirit in the boy whose name bears the title of this stirring tale. By age eleven, Varrick O'Connell had already lost several things in his life, the most important of which was his father two and a half years before. Since that tragedy, this sensitive and insightful boy has lost his zeal, confidence, and courage to fight life's battles. First, three bullies (all brothers) terrorize him at seemingly every turn. An older sibling taunts him mercilessly. And, during the Little League season of 1965, Varrick actually begins to lose his passion for baseball because of his fear of a ball in the man-sized hands of the most dominating pitcher he's ever faced - the six-foot, two-inch tall southpaw pitcher named Ross Ramsey, referred to by Varrick and his close buddy Jack as "Big R." Set in a small Mojave Desert town during the summer of 1965, VARRICK'S DISTURBANCES deals with a wide variety of topics and emotions: the loss of loved ones, racial strife (both in the town of Yuccaville, California, and in Watts during the riots), the well-meaning but potentially dangerous intervention of mental health professionals, the real or imagined appearance of a guardian angel, and - most importantly - the search for ultimate truth, protection, personal courage, and faith in a power greater than us all. "VARRICK'S DISTURBANCES has depth and substance. Patrick Rowlee is a powerful storyteller painting vivid portraits of his characters in a way that makes them real, vulnerable, and accessible for his readers. I love his style - descriptive without being flowery, compelling without being melodramatic. There is something in VARRICK'S DISTURBANCES for everyone I was immediately hooked." -- Amy Hammond Hagberg, author of the Christian book series HOW DO YOU KNOW HE'S REAL? "Patrick Rowlee writes with a muscular style perfectly suited to sports fiction. He has proven he's in the literary game for the long haul, and I'm damn glad of it " - Gerald Locklin, Poet, Critic, and Professor Emeritus - California State University, Long Beach