John Walker Pattison

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your hobbies and interests.

Born on Monday, February 4, 1957, to parents John and Ruby in the charming seaside town of South Shields, Pattison admits that he spent his school days clowning around, neglecting his intellectual chemistry, and leaving school with a handful of worthless qualifications. His childhood was largely uneventful, although one of his earliest and fondest memories is from September 1969, when he made his first entry through the turnstiles at St. James Park to see his beloved Newcastle United play football. In 1973, Pattison began working at a local shipyard until the spectre of cancer gripped his life in a deathly stranglehold and sculpted his future. During this harrowing time, his parents were told that he would not survive. Today, he is humbled to be one of the longest survivors of cancer in the UK. Eight years after his unexpected recovery, Pattison faced another devastating blow when his four-year-old daughter, Donna, was diagnosed with terminal leukaemia. However, defying the odds like her father, Donna went on to become an international swimmer for Team GB. In 1985, Pattison left the shipyards and returned to college. Now more mature, he excelled academically and gained the qualifications necessary to pursue a career in nursing. His dedication and skill led to a meteoric rise to the top of the nursing profession. During his nursing career, he wrote numerous articles for national and international nursing and medical journals and delivered lectures across the country on various aspects of haematology and cancer management. His contributions to the field earned him numerous awards both locally and nationally. However, Pattison considers his survival from cancer to be his greatest achievement. Pattison retired from his position as a senior clinical nurse specialist and head of service in haematology at his local hospital, partially due to chronic illnesses resulting from the chemotherapy and radiotherapy he received nearly fifty years ago. A crucial support throughout his life has been his beautiful wife, June. “…Nothing is more important than family…” says John. The music of Hawkwind provided solace during the dark days of the seventies, and in 2007, he not only joined the band as part of the backstage crew but also played on stage with them at Donnington Festival. However, an even greater inspiration in his life was the history and spirituality of the Lakota Sioux Nation. In 2018, he spent time on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota with the indigenous people who, unknowingly, supported him through his greatest challenge — cancer. Pattison enjoys the solitude and escapism of fly-fishing, but there is nothing he cherishes more than travelling to secluded and undiscovered areas of America with his soul mate, June.

When and why did you start writing books?

I retired from my senior nurse consultancy post three years ago, and, as one of the longest survivors of cancer in the UK (a humble and emotional position to be in), I wanted to deliver hope and inspiration to anyone touched by a cancer diagnosis, which scarily, is one in two of the population. This is not just my story of cancer, but eight years after my unexpected recovery, the diagnosis of terminal leukaemia of my four-year-old daughter, Donna. Subsequently, I re-trained to become a nurse and enjoyed a meteoric rise to become a senior clinical nurse specialist at the very hospital that made my diagnosis fifty years earlier.

What made you decide to tackle writing as a career?

Simple, to deliver inspiration to anyone who has been affected by cancer. I very much wanted to weave words of emotion, words of fact, and words of humour that would resonate with people of all persuasions.

Which one of your books or characters is your favourite?

It is a non-fiction book - a true story of overcoming incredible odds. A three-dimensional account of human resilience, courage and sheer determination.

Which one of your books was the hardest to write and stretched you the most as a writer?

Me and My Shadow - memoirs of a cancer survivor.

Who is your favourite author and book?

Dee Brown

What book are you reading right now?

Dancing with Grandfather

Where do you get your inspiration for your books?

The Lakota Sioux Nation (I am an honorary member of the tribal council of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation)

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Fly-fishing and visiting America

Do you have any new books in the works?

Three: The Fastest Water Pistol in Splodge City (due to be published September 2024), Lunar Von Buella, the Mystical Mouse from Missoula (2025), Admiral Percival Pigeonforge ("025), and Mind-Boggling Stories (2026).