“Coincidence, You Say?” by Patrick Hogan

Coincidence, You Say?

Patrick Hogan
Whatnot Enterprises, LLC (2024)
ISBN: 978-1732547452 
Reviewed by Rob Laymon for Reader Views (06/2024)

Walt Whitman said there is no trade or employment but the young man following it may become a hero. Patrick Hogan followed several, and seems to have become a hero at all of them. A horse handler as a youth, an in-country soldier in Vietnam, a career policeman in Teaneck, NJ, a scrimmager with the Department of Veterans Affairs, a seeker after God—Hogan seemed to make glory of many roads.

Or maybe it’s the careful appraisal of one’s own life that reveals the hidden heroic in it. Either way, “Coincidence, You Say?” charts a fine course among the many baffles and triumphs of Hogan’s long career on the planet. One could almost call it an autobiographical call to action, as it presents not only the details of Hogan’s enterprise but also the value of putting them in print. Would-be writers take note.

Granted, Hogan’s lucidly written and splendidly edited prose sets a high mark for imitators. His sharp and regular paragraphs, marching like a grenadier down the page, bespeak uncommon discipline with a pen. His knowing mixtures of conflict and resolution save a humble story from the commonplace. His devotion to this project, and the obvious effort it required, suggest a courage that other writers might do well to appropriate.

Born in Newburgh, NY and raised in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Hogan grew up loving guns and animals. During his teenage years, he wrangled horses at the Blue Ridge Riding Academy and later at Johnny Ray’s Show Stable near Paramus. With the Vietnam conflict developing into a war, he enlisted in the Army and found himself stationed in South Vietnam from September 1966 through June 1969, earning the rank of staff sergeant E-6.

Enlisting in the military forced me to grow up fast,” he writes. “The army taught me honor, accountability, and discipline. The classrooms of Vietnam taught me patience, perseverance, focus, and commitment.

It also showered him with the many toxic chemicals used in military-grade herbicides and insecticides, leading to a long battle with the DVA over service-related health issues, about which he wrote his first book, “Silent Spring—Deadly Autumn of the Vietnam War.”

Through it all Hogan maintains the geniality of a close friend whose intention is only to spare you the headaches he has faced. As the charming account of a life studiously run, Patrick Hogan’s “Coincidence, You Say?” rewards that friendship.