An Irishwoman's Tale

"An Irishwoman's Tale" is not only a novel for the Irish, but for anyone who longs to heal from the oppressive tragedy of rejection. It is for the wayward daughter shackled in prison, as well as for the prestigious businesswoman throttled by invisible white knuckles from the past. Basing her novel on a true story along with careful research, Patti Lacy has interwoven colorful details and patterns of speech in a way that transports the reader to the pastoral countryside of Ireland. Perhaps more importantly, she has plumbed the depths of honesty, courageously scraping the barrel, while simultaneously offering bright hope to those whose lives are compounded by seemingly hopeless circumstances. Patti is a masterful writer whose style is a unique combination of succinct dialogue (as in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby"), cutting-edge literature (as in Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle"), and lyrical descriptions (as in Willa Cather's "My Antonia"). Altogether, her tale aims to enlighten, heal, and restore. Her writing has addicted me as the voice of a newfound friend I'd despair to live without.

Patti Lacy has demonstrated what a wonderful storyteller she is in An Irishwoman's Tale. I spent two days completely absorbed in Patti's masterful and poetic descriptions of both geographic locations and character emotions. It wasn't light reading, yet it was never depressing either. Although this is a fictionalized account of a true story,Mary Elizabeth O'Brian's journey from a dysfunctional childhood to finding authentic inner peace as an adult is not an uncommon story for many women. The story offers hope to those who have walked in shoes similar to Mary's and are still searching for that peace. If you belong to a book group, I highly recommend this for your next selection. Patti includes some great discussion questions at the end.

I loved, loved this book. The fact that An Irishwoman's Tale is based on a true story and told so well as fiction makes the story that much more compelling. Lacy did a wonderful job weaving the true story she knows so well into this fictional tale and its message of redemption is one readers won't soon forget. It will live on in your head for weeks to come, whispering the truths of forgiveness and grace.

There is something quite fascinating about Ireland. I've read some historical stories about this grand country. So I eagerly began to read this Irish woman's tale of trying to find herself. Who is she, this woman named Mary Elizabeth? Why did her real mother send her away, why was her adoptive mother cold towards her. I was spell bound as I read through 300 plus pages until Mary Elizabeth, her friend Sally, and I found closure. And Mary Elizabeth learned that God was with her, all those years. I especially like to read about relationships between parents and children. Patti Lacy's writing held me spell bound throughout the story. I highly recommend An Irishwoman's Tale.

This is a tale that spans the generations in the story of one woman. Though many Irishwomen have crossed the Atlantic to America over the centuries, surely Mary's tale is one of the more dramatic. At the age of five she is sent away from her family and homeland, and struggles to come to grips with new foster parents in an entirely alien culture. Not an easy matter for a hot-headed Irish lass. The book follows her growing-up, her adult life, her successes and her many painful challenges, until one day a caring friend coaxes the story out of her. Opening up like this sets off a chain of events that will lead them both back to Ireland, a glorious and terrible journey of many revelations along the road in the search for real family. Encounters with hitherto unknown relatives hold a poignant emotion that will be familiar to many readers. Mary attempts to help her relatives, both real and adopted, with varying results as we know from real life. I live in Ireland and I can surely tell you that the pulse of the land is in this book, this novel that isn't really fiction. I have felt my heart arise at descriptions of places I have seen with my own eyes. I have also felt the sadness at the truth in these pages that our homeland can be a harsh place oftentimes. Yes, there is cruelty, and rejection, and pain. But Patti has written in a vein of redemption and hope, so that we can see how Mary finally makes peace with her past and embraces her future. This is a story of the heart that thoroughly entangled me in its web, breathless until I read the last page. It is more than a book - it is a work of reconciliation across the ocean, a tale of hope against the odds, and one woman's journey to victory in spite of all that life has thrown at her.