On Finding My Voice Through My Fathers Stories by Donna Hills Patrick

The Town I Crow About launched on September 20, 2026 in East Millstone, New Jersey. As I reflect on that long-anticipated day, my thoughts turn to Dad and the realization of just how many people he touched throughout his lifetime. It’s amazing to think about how much he meant to others and the impact he had on the community around him.

As I looked out at the audience that afternoon, I began to realize  how far my father’s memories had taken me. In a career where I analyzed data, worked with spreadsheets, and focused on minute details, writing a book was not on my list of things to do.

Yet here I was, drawn into it by the stories my father treasured. As people asked how long I’d been writing, what else I’ve written, and told me they couldn’t put the book down, I became suddenly aware that I had written something people wanted to read.

It was a surreal awareness and I began to see myself in a way I never had before.

That realization did not come about through my efforts alone though.

The book was shaped by interest in my father’s stories and the ongoing support of people who admired him. It reflected the respect for my father and the place he held in the community as one of its historians through his life-long residency. 

The East Millstone Historical Society graciously invited me to be the guest speaker at its annual meeting to launch my book. The event was held at the Millstone Valley Firehouse, an integral part of the community and a fitting place for the gathering.

Members organized a potluck and volunteer firefighters cleared the garage bays and set up tables for the presentation. My family was there to support me too, helping carry me through a day that meant more to me than I could have anticipated.

The journey Dad and I embarked on to preserve his voice and a place that shaped him was brought full circle by the large turnout that day.

The presentation captivated the audience. They laughed, cried, applauded, and listened intently to the stories. I was thanked for capturing what so many people cherished about the little village of East Millstone. 

The community’s eagerness to be at the event, contribute to the potluck, and help make it a success reflected the very spirit my father talked about throughout the book. I began to understand that Dad’s stories carried me into a world I never expected to enter—a place where I found my voice through his—helping me see myself as a writer beyond our chats at the kitchen table.

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Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Donna Hills Patrick is the first of Raymond and Arlene Hills’s three daughters. She lived in East Millstone until she married and moved to Vermont with her husband Jon. Donna worked for over twenty years in construction and space management. The Town I Crow About is her first book.

THE TOWN I CROW ABOUT

The Town I Crow About is a collection of stories that 94-year-old Raymond Hills told his daughter, Donna, as he looked back on his life growing up in East Millstone, New Jersey, a small, once industrious town with a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.

From the schoolyard to Market Street, Raymond invites readers into personal reflections spanning the Great Depression through the World War II era and beyond, introducing them to East Millstone’s early history and explaining how the town has evolved over the years. His stories begin with childhood adventures in the Boy Scouts, follow his teenage years racing a Model A roadster, recount his service in the Navy, and conclude with the courtship of the woman who would become his wife of 63 years.

While historical photographs bring each story to life, it is the people, Raymond included, who make East Millstone–the town he crows about–special.

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, On Writing