A History of Heartache Check out A History of Heartache - <b>In this debut collection, celebrated journalist Patrick Strickland's vivid and character-driven stories are as true to life as his award-winning reportage.</b><br...

Out tomorrow with @melvillehouse.bsky.social — get it here:

bookshop.org/a/121591/978...

Chapter 16 review of A History of Heartache: “The world depicted in Patrick Strickland’s debut story collection, A History of Heartache, is thick with undercurrents of personal violence, addiction, cynicism, and economic instability. Jobs are scarce and menial. Drugs are abundant. Parents slosh their wine and whiskey. Kids get high and play too rough. Through his vivid, voice-driven prose, Strickland mingles societal crises and systemic obstacles with his characters’ attempts at personal survival or redemption. Strickland’s stories persistently braid these elements together as they work to generate the stories’ thematic power.”

“Through his vivid, voice-driven prose, Strickland mingles societal crises and systemic obstacles with his characters’ attempts at personal survival or redemption.”

So grateful for this considerate and smart review of A History of Heartache:

chapter16.org/ghosts-of-a-...

North Texas native Patrick Strickland will be at Deep Vellum Books this Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. to discuss his new book.

🔗 www.dallasobserver.com/arts-culture/patrick-str...

A History of Heartache Check out A History of Heartache - <b>In this debut collection, celebrated journalist Patrick Strickland's vivid and character-driven stories are as true to life as his award-winning reportage.</b><br...

A History of Heartache is out Tuesday with @melvillehouse.bsky.social and I'd just appreciate the snot out of it if you'd preorder it right here:

bookshop.org/a/121591/978...

Characters stumble through uncertain lives in D-FW author's story collection In "A History of Heartache," Patrick Strickland returns to Texas and peels back the mask of a worn-out suburbia to reveal stark human tragedy.

"But in A History of Heartache, a short-story collection that is his first work of fiction, he returns to Texas and peels back the mask of a worn-out suburbia to reveal stark human tragedy."

I'm stoked as all heck to get this thoughtful and generous review of my book from the Dallas Morning News:

“A History of Heartache” Is a World Where No Saviors Are Coming Bleak, clear-eyed, abrasive, and thoughtful stories about the forgotten folks of East Texas.

"Beyond the pain and the characters who bear it, this book is a commentary on the ways America abandons its people to fend for themselves."

@tobyleblancauthor.bsky.social reviews A HISTORY OF HEARTACHE by Patrick Strickland. @melvillehouse.bsky.social

southernreviewofbooks.com/2026/04/15/a...

Stoked that my new story collection, A HISTORY OF HEARTACHE, made this list of April's best southern books.

It's out April 21 with @melvillehouse.bsky.social

Pre-order: bookshop.org/a/121591/978...

Stories of addiction and underemployment feature in the bare-knuckled fiction debut from journalist Strickland (You Can Kill Each Other After I Leave). The unnamed narrator of the title entry, a high school senior, dreams about heading to California from his hometown in north Texas, leaving behind his alcoholic mother and memories of his older brother who died at age 16 from a heroin overdose. In “Mockingbirds,” a former teacher, now mopping floors at an abortion clinic, is hounded by an anti-abortion protester intent on making him into a villain online. In “Rent Money,” a woman in her early 20s comes to terms with the shortcomings of her 41-year-old husband, a heavy-drinking slumlord for “meth monsters” who tries to goad her into collecting rent, a far cry from the “clean, simple life” he promised her when they got married five years earlier. Strickland laces his hardscrabble scenes with lyricism, as in “Screaming East on I-10,” when a young drifter living alongside crack addicts describes taking a hit of the drug, then notices how “night bruises the sky purple.” In each piece, grief underscores the characters’ recklessness, imbuing the collection with an unsentimental but tender emotional register. Strickland’s humane depictions of people living on the margins acknowledge the forces that shape them.

I am downright stoked to get such a generous and positive review from Publishers Weekly for this story collection I’ve spent six, seven years chipping away at.

‘A History of Heartache’ is out April 21 with @melvillehouse.bsky.social —

www.publishersweekly.com/9781685892357

Why Donald Trump Just Can’t Stop Going to War When Imperial America Offers Help, It Just Might Get You Killed BY PATRICK STRICKLAND After protests across Iran turned deadly in January, President Donald Trump promised Iranians that “help is on the way.” On February 28th, the U.S. and Israel launched what immediately became a devastating war on Iran. American and Israeli warplanes began dropping bombs on a country of some 93 million people. Trump soon put out a video address, telling Iranians that “the hour of your freedom is at hand.” Around the time that video appeared, Iranians in the city of Minab were sorting through the corpses of more than 165 people killed in an airstrike on an elementary school for girls.

I have a new piece up @tomdispatch.bsky.social about Trump’s promise to “help” Iranians, the brutal US-Israeli war on Iran, and the long history of imperial offers of aid that are so often deadly for the very people Washington says it wants to help:

tomdispatch.com/why-donald-t...

From the US to Iran, Trump World is Waging Holy War For decades, the Islamophobia industry has pumped out 'Holy War' conspiracy theories and provided justification for US wars.

I wrote a thing at @inkstickmedia.com:

With Trump's war on Iran and anti-immigrant policy, Republicans are escalating Islamophobic incitement and Christian nationalist rhetoric.

From the US to Iran, Trump World is Waging Holy War For decades, the Islamophobia industry has pumped out 'Holy War' conspiracy theories and provided justification for US wars.

By the time the US-Israeli war on Iran is said and done, the Christian nationalists around Donald Trump will be sad to learn that Armageddon, in fact, has not come.

By: @patrickobrienstrickland.com

inkstickmedia.com/from-the-us-...

How Trump's DHS is Fighting to Pull Local Cops to its Side As Trump's DHS grows in size and power, it is attempting to pull local law enforcement on its side in its war on sanctuary policies.

As Trump's DHS fights to pull local police onto its side, an immigrant’s safety largely depends on how much their community stands up for them.

By: @tylerfromtexas.bsky.social

inkstickmedia.com/how-trumps-d...

At Inkstick, @moiralavelle.bsky.social reviews @mollycrabapple.bsky.social's 'Here Where We Live Is Our Country,' out next month.

A harrowing letter from Gaza: "For two years, I have not so much as turned on a heater. What would be the point? There is neither gas nor electricity. The only source of warmth are wood fires, and they are suffocating."

At Inkstick, @tylerfromtexas.bsky.social spoke to Behrooz Ghamari, a former political prisoner in Iran and author of the new book 'The Long War on Iran' (from @orbooks.bsky.social)

"The interventionist policy only creates disasters," he said.

How Trump is Bringing America’s Wars Home – Again As US President Donald Trump brings America's wars home once again, ICE agents escalate violence and deportations around the country.

"When family members of the disappeared immigrants arrived, there was no sign of their loved ones. What they found instead were customized ace of spades playing cards that read 'ICE Denver Field Office.'"

inkstickmedia.com/how-trump-is...

A History of Heartache Check out A History of Heartache - <b>In this debut collection, celebrated journalist Patrick Strickland's vivid and character-driven stories are as true to life as his award-winning reportage.</b><br...

Pre-order here at @deepvellumbooks.bsky.social Bookshop: bookshop.org/a/121591/978...

Stories of addiction and underemployment feature in the bare-knuckled fiction debut from journalist Strickland (You Can Kill Each Other After I Leave). The unnamed narrator of the title entry, a high school senior, dreams about heading to California from his hometown in north Texas, leaving behind his alcoholic mother and memories of his older brother who died at age 16 from a heroin overdose. In “Mockingbirds,” a former teacher, now mopping floors at an abortion clinic, is hounded by an anti-abortion protester intent on making him into a villain online. In “Rent Money,” a woman in her early 20s comes to terms with the shortcomings of her 41-year-old husband, a heavy-drinking slumlord for “meth monsters” who tries to goad her into collecting rent, a far cry from the “clean, simple life” he promised her when they got married five years earlier. Strickland laces his hardscrabble scenes with lyricism, as in “Screaming East on I-10,” when a young drifter living alongside crack addicts describes taking a hit of the drug, then notices how “night bruises the sky purple.” In each piece, grief underscores the characters’ recklessness, imbuing the collection with an unsentimental but tender emotional register. Strickland’s humane depictions of people living on the margins acknowledge the forces that shape them.

I am downright stoked to get such a generous and positive review from Publishers Weekly for this story collection I’ve spent six, seven years chipping away at.

‘A History of Heartache’ is out April 21 with @melvillehouse.bsky.social —

www.publishersweekly.com/9781685892357

Important piece @inkstickmedia.com by @tylermcbrien.com on the ever-worsening drive to profit off deportation and immigrant incarceration in America.

Five dead, 20 missing, as migrant vessel capsizes off Crete | eKathimerini.com At least five people have died and around 20 are reported missing after a migrant vessel capsized off the southern coast of Crete early Saturday.

At least five people are dead and another 20 are missing after a boat carrying refugees and migrants capsized near Greece's Crete.

Lebanon's Deadly State of Neglect Adds to Woes of Life After War In Lebanon, a deadly state of neglect threatens the country's fragile security in the wake of a grueling Israeli war.

Tripoli is Lebanon’s medieval-era jewel by the sea. But decades of state neglect and poverty are coming to a head amid a deadly spate of collapsing buildings.

inkstickmedia.com/lebanons-dea...

Autopsies show migrants in shipwreck off Greece died of head injuries, not drowning Most of the 15 Afghan migrants who were killed off the Greek island of Chios last week when their dinghy collided with a coast guard vessel died of head injuries, not from drowning, autopsy results se...

A Greek coast guard ship "collided with" a boat carrying refugees, killing 15. Now an autopsy shows that the Afghans who died in the incident perished because of head wounds rather than drowning.

This is a powerful and grim piece by Palestinian journalist Issam Adwan, a reflection on what it truly means to be a reporter in Gaza and how grave the risks are.

When the Border is Both the Crime and the Crime Scene | Inkstick In a world divided by borders, the US has a long tradition of blaming people fleeing the wars and violence it played a part in fueling.

"Imperialism defines much of this country’s history, but the latest escalation comes at a time when ICE agents have also been deployed to grab immigrants off the streets and whisk them to detention centers. Meanwhile, Trump has continued to preach the jingoistic gospel of stopping new arrivals."

When the Border is Both the Crime and the Crime Scene In a world divided by borders, the US has a long tradition of blaming people fleeing the wars and violence it played a large part in fueling.

"In a world divided by borders, the US has a long tradition of blaming people fleeing the wars and violence it played a large part in fueling."

With Defense of ICE, JD Vance Clarifies His Next Target: You US Vice President JD Vance wants to use law enforcement to punish his critics — regardless of any proof of criminality.

US Vice President JD Vance wants to use law enforcement to punish his critics — regardless of any proof of criminality.

By: @tylerfromtexas.bsky.social

inkstickmedia.com/with-defense...

3 yrs ago I started writing a book that is in stores TODAY. It's narrative nonfiction, anti-fascist spy thriller set in Trump era. It's timely as hell & I'm proud of it.

A thread of what people are saying abt it & why I hope you'll help make it a bestseller www.simonandschuster.com/books/To-Cat...

On Surveilling, Infiltrating, and Disrupting Fascists in America In a new book, journalist Christopher Mathias sets about the difficult task of chronicling anti-fascist activists who don't seek acclaim.

The great @patrickobrienstrickland.com wrote this absolute banger of a review for @inksters.bsky.social inkstickmedia.com/on-surveilli...

Once a Prisoner, Behrooz Ghamari Dissects the 'Long War on Iran' In his new book 'The Long War on Iran,' Behrooz Ghamari takes a scalpel to decades of misguided US policy toward Tehran.

In his new book 'The Long War on Iran,' former political prisoner and sociologist Behrooz Ghamari takes a scalpel to decades of misguided US policy toward Tehran.

By: @tylerfromtexas.bsky.social

inkstickmedia.com/once-a-priso...

I did a deep dive on @letsgomathias.bsky.social's very important, very timely, and very well-done new book, 'To Catch a Fascist,' out next week.