The Writings of Pat Conroy "One of the greatest gifts you can get as a writer is to be born into an unhappy family," Conroy once said (Starr 3). Pat Conroy received this gift from Don and Peg Conroy on October 26, 1945 in Atlanta, Georgia. His writings are reflections of this life he received so long ago. He was born into a traditional Catholic family. His father was a Marine Corps fighter pilot, and his mother was a socially eager house wife (Disc. Auth. 1-2). Pat was the first of seven children and 6 miscarriages. Family life was so bad that his sister once said, "The miscarriages were the lucky ones." Pat says he served in the Marine Corps since th