Former N.S. RCMP officer writes memoir, hoping it will help others suffering with PTSD
A former Nova Scotia RCMP officer is hoping to share his past experiences on what it was like to work as an officer and how he and many others struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Patrick Guy Roy worked as an RCMP officer in Nova Scotia for 25 years. At the age of 62, he decided to put his experiences on paper by writing a memoir.
“It’ll have an insight on what policing is. It’s not what you see on television,” said Roy.
He hopes this memoir will not only provide insight into the life of a police officer but also hopes it will help others who are struggling with PTSD.
Roy told CTV News that he comes from a family of police officers. He started his career right out of high school, at the age of 19, with his first posting in Ingonish, N.S. His last posting was in Truro, N.S.
Two years ago, Roy received unexpected news. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s - one of the main reasons he decided to document all of his memories.
“Some days are good and some days are worse. It’s really tough when you can’t remember what you had for breakfast,” he said.
He told CTV News that his mother also suffered from Alzheimer’s when he was younger and that he now understands what it must’ve been like for her.
Since January, he has been working with Beverley Hotchkiss, a ghostwriter in Ontario, to help him write his 330-page memoir.
While on the job, he recalls being thrown into several life-threatening situations that eventually led him to develop PTSD. He said PTSD is very common in the force, but wasn’t met with any sense of urgency at the time. He recalled telling his brother that he needed help, which eventually led him to see a psychologist long after he experienced a traumatic shooting while working.
“He was surprised that he hadn’t been told what I was there for. He was mad actually; he said you should’ve been here the next day,” said Roy.
While struggling with his mental health, Roy says it felt like he was “swept under the rug." He says mental health and PTSD were not topics of discussion that came up a lot during his career.
“I still have stress problems and I probably always will have them,” he said.
After getting to know Roy, Beverley Hotchkiss said his ability to speak openly about his trauma as an officer may pave the way for other men who have been suffering in silence.
“I talked with him and some of his co-workers. Then I started to understand what this life was about for front line workers and police officers in particular,” said Hotchkiss.
Hotchkiss has been helping Patrick write his book titled ‘Fighting The Good Fight’.
“The main thing for him was to leave a legacy for his children and for them to be able to understand their father better and also as a project to help with his memory retention,” said Hotchkiss.
While speaking to Roy’s traumatic moments, Hotchkiss said officers were expected to get up and go to work the next morning as if nothing happened.
“In a shift, he could be going to a suicide, a domestic violence situation and then pulling someone speeding over and it’s just constant rotation,” she said.
Much to his surprise, Roy said he can still remember his time working for the RCMP very clearly, while other things don’t come as quickly to mind.
The two are hoping to get Roy's memoir published soon so that he can hold his book in his hands while his memories are still present.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.