Catholic Vancouver February 06, 2018
Retiree starts 2nd career as author, playwright
By Agnieszka Ruck
Author and playwright Pat Cash in Arizona with his latest book, Wondrous Life, originally published in 2016 and revised in 2017. (Photo courtesy Pat Cash)
VANCOUVER—Retirement didn’t mean closing the curtain on a writing career for 82-year-old Pat Cash.
The author and playwright has just released a revised edition of his latest book, Wondrous Life, a dialogue between a grandfather and a grandson about prayer, good and evil, and eternity.
“I'd written a couple of one-act plays and they were produced in Arizona,” said Cash, who entered several playwriting contests in Casa Grande, Ariz. “I started to do a third one, and then it developed into what was essentially this book, a dialogue between a young person and his grandfather.”
Wondrous Life, the play, was one of five finalists in a playwriting competition in 2016. It was after that competition that he extended the story into a 16-chapter book.
“The grandfather is somebody like myself: Irish background, Catholic,” said Cash, who can be found writing in Casa Grande or South Delta. “He struggles with things. He’s not a theologian.”
He does his best to answer the questions of his inquisitive grandson, who grows up from an elementary school student to an adult and asks increasingly difficult questions.
“When I retired, I needed something to do,” said Cash, who was previously a systems specialist and consulted on IT for the Archdiocese of Vancouver over the years.
He’s written three other books on music, hosting charity golf tournaments, and his memoirs.
“Because I saw how I managed to write these books, I found anybody can do it.” When he's not writing, he's giving presentations to other seniors about how to publish books themselves.
“Anybody can write a book and leave something behind, leave a legacy, write their memoirs, or write stories.”
Wondrous Life is available online through Amazon, Kindle, and ISSUU.