ABSTRACT
Pat Conroy is a renowned writer of literary fiction. He was born in 1945 and grew up in a strong military family in South Carolina, which became both theme and backdrop for several of his novels including: The Great Santini, Beach Music, The Prince of Tides, South of Broad, and My Losing Season. Conroy’s struggle for mental and physical health, for life itself, illustrates how a father, however well-meaning, can wreck havoc with his son’s life. What Colonel Don Conroy was thinking when he repeatedly physically assaulted his son is beyond comprehension.
