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Customer Reviews for Monarch Books An Irishwoman's Tale
Monarch Books An Irishwoman's Tale
Mary Freeman has come a long way from the Irish family that didn't want the "little eejit." Now living in Midwest America, she's married with two teenage daughters---but still haunted by those early memories. What will it take to bring Mary face to face with her bitter past---and with God? 320 pages, softcover from Kregel.
Average Customer Rating:
(23 Reviews) 23
Rating Snapshot (23 reviews)
5 stars
19
4 stars
4
3 stars
0
2 stars
0
1 star
0
2 out of 2100%customers would recommend this product to a friend.
Customer Reviews for An Irishwoman's Tale
Review 1 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
A book of the heart
Date:November 26, 2010
Laura Frantz
Location:Washington state
Age:45-54
Gender:female
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
You can always tell a book that comes from an author's heart and this is one of those exceptional novels that does. Being of Irish ancestry, I was intrigued by this book from the beginning. Womens' fiction is somewhat new for me as I tend to read mostly historicals, but I'm so thrilled I found Patti Lacy! This hardly seems a debut book as it is embued with so many wonderful emotional and spiritual threads. The characters are realistic and heartfelt - the conflict beautifully resolved. I could go on and on. If you want a lasting blessing, reach for this book and then give a gift and pass it along to others. I am a now a huge fan!
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Review 2 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
A story that will linger
Date:October 7, 2010
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
I've always wanted to visit Ireland, and Patti Lacy's book only deepened that desire! Descriptions of rugged cliffs, pounding surf, and too many shades of green to name are the recurring backdrop to this deeply moving story of a woman's lifelong struggle to come to terms with her identity and find a lasting sense of self-worth. Cast out by the Irish family that didn't want her, sent across the ocean to live with relatives who are dysfunctional in their own way, Mary Freeman can't seem to find peace. Her emotionally gripping journey finally takes her back to Ireland to confront her past.
Ms. Lacy handles difficult subjects with tenderness and grace, weaving spiritual truths into a heartrending story that will linger long after you close the book. I look forward to reading more from this talented author.
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Review 3 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:September 2, 2010
Mary Freeman's memory has always haunted her, since she was sent away by her mother to an aunt in the United States. She was born in Ireland and knew that she was hit by her step father, so was her mother, but she could never understand why and she never knew who her father was. She was sent to any older couple that had no children and her new father loved her and she him but her new mother was not loveable. Mary started college but fell in with the wrong crowd and started drinking, drugs and everything else, so she dropped out of college.Mary grew up and married and had two girls of her own, but as the story takes place she is keeping her mother that has altimeizer's and one of the girls hate her because she is always being mean mouthed. This also got to Mary and she started hearing voices in her head and was told she need to go to a phsycologists, she just could not go until she found out some more things about her past. She had gone back to visit her real mother, before she had married, but was sent out again and she had only wanted to end her life but something held her back.Mary had a good friend Sally and she felt as though she had to tell someone her story beside her husband as she had told him everything. She started talking to Sally and almost the entire book was about her telling her story to someone else. It was a great book and kept my interest.This book was sent to me by Kregel Publication for review.
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Review 4 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:November 6, 2009
I love all things Irish, and Mary Freeman's story is no exception. At first, I thought I was going to get bogged down in it because most of the story is one long flashback, which writers are generally told not to do. However, Mary's story kept me turning the pages, anxious to know when she would go back to Ireland, what she would find there, and how it would affect the rest of her life. The relationship between Mary and Sally is great, and Patti gives us just enough of Sally's POV to make her a fascinating character. The other characters in Mary's life, American and Irish, make a wonderful cast. As for Mary's life itself, Patti does a wonderful job of letting us see a lot of harrowing events, but she draws Mary as such a strong woman, and gives readers just enough hope, that we don't feel as if we're getting a "downer" of a story. In fact, Mary's acceptance of faith was one of my favorite parts for just that reason. This is an epic story of a real woman, a real life, and a real God, and how He is faithful to us, even if that faithfulness is subtle. Superb work, Patti--I will read Sally's story ASAP!
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Review 5 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:October 14, 2009
Sherilyn
I highly recommend this book! The author makes the characters come alive in this story, and you will get carried away by their story. I love how God answered Mary's prayer for a best friend.
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Review 6 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:November 25, 2008
Marian Merritt
Bravo to first time author, Patti Lacy! The story, the characters, the plot all gel to make An Irishwoman's Tale a book worth reading. Based on a true story, Patti has woven the elements of fact and fiction to take the reader through the life of Mary, a poor Irish girl whose life is a series of rejection and poor choices. But it is also a story of an unlikely friendship, of unselfish forgiveness, and God's amazing redemption. In this fast-paced world where reading is a luxury few can afford, this book, filled with deeply drawn characters, is definitely worth your time.
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Review 7 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:November 20, 2008
Annabelle
I went to Ireland for the price of a book. What an amazing story! The story has twists and turns and mixes in great Irish phrases and folk songs. Don't miss the best book I've read this year.
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Review 8 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:November 19, 2008
My Mom has always said that every family is weird in its own way. The older I get the more I know she is right. Each of us are built of day to day experiences, family influences, hereditary quirks, with bits and pieces of our own individuality mixed into the soup. Often life is served with a side dish filled with hidden calories that represent addictions, family secrets, pain and suffering that our families try to hide from us as children.As Mary Freeman watches her oldest daughter begin to tempted into some very real addiction, she begins to feel pulled and evaluate her life. It is a journey she doesn't want to walk and one she has never shared with anyone because of the pain she has shoved so deeply into her heart. But like so many moms, she would walk through fire for her child. Her journey carries her to the cliffs of Ireland and through a painful path of discovering her past and the truth behind why she was sent away as a small child. Why her mother rejected her. Why she was raised in an emotionless home. Discovering the whys of her past were painful, but hold the key to the future and the freedom for not only herself, but her family.I began reading this book, but then I became immersed in it. Grab a cup of coffee, find a quiet chair and let this book move your heart and soul.
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Review 9 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:November 1, 2008
Patti has taken women's fiction to an amazing place. This story takes us across an ocean, to a place that is painful to go, but a relief to reach. It brings us to a friendship sown of heartache and reaped in shared tears. I hurt for Mary as she would inch closer to opening up to her new friend Sally and then ached as she would share her past and open raw wounds. Patti has a unique tale to tell and a beautiful style with which to tell it. If you like women's fiction then this book is a much have for your personal library. She will transport you to places you wish you were (like Ireland) and take you back to places you wish you had never been (like being an unwanted, unloved child) and when you are done, you will take a deep breath and wish you had Sally's story to pick up and start reading so you wouldn't have to say good-bye to the characters you have just gotten to know.
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Review 10 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:October 29, 2008
Cara Putman
The story is about one woman's search for who she is. She has kept people at arm's length her entire life, until Sally, a plucky Southern transplant, invades her life. Mary tries to resist, but finds herself sharing her story with Sally.Mary grew up in Ireland in the 1950s before being sent to the United States against her will. Her story is pulled out of her piece by piece by Sally. And it's a story that twists and turns through the grit of life. A past that isn't perfect. A past filled with pain. A past Mary can't escape.While classified as general fiction on the cover, I think it falls firmly in women's fiction. While that's not a genre I naturally gravitate towards Patti's characters and writings kept me reading. In the depths of the story I wondered how healing and forgiveness could come. And when it looked like it had arrived, the book took another turn. It was a page-turner in a women's fiction kind of way.Most of all, it's a story of redeeming love -- and that's a feature that's often missing in books.
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Review 11 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:October 29, 2008
The author weaves an amazing and emotionally engaging tale about a woman's quest to know her "people" from Ireland; to know her blood kin. She never really felt wanted, at least not since she was shipped to America and planted in another family with no explanation as to why she was sent away. I found her internal conflict to be totally believable, and the retelling of her life showed a slow progression of her developing faith that probably follows what most people experience who find Christ in their adult yers. I was so drawn into the story and Mary's quest for answers that I kept picking this book up and when I wasn't able to read it I found myself thinking about the story. Well done. "An Irishwoman's Tale" was a truly beautiful read for many reasons. I love it when I feel so drawn into a story that I am transported in my mind to a different place. I felt like I was Mary in the book as she relived the memories from her early years through adulthood. I especially loved when she got to the part where she was a wild child in college. What a great portrayal of that era and the lifestyle that went with it. It included very realistic dialogue and situations with men, etc. I loved the honesty in this story. I loved how Mary slowly began to allow people to get close enough for her to love them back. I loved how her early days as a new mother were portrayed. Very gripping and real. Wonderful stuff! I can't say enough good things about this book. At first I wasn't sure if I liked the set up of the story being told to another person, but it all wove together so well that I wouldn't change a thing. Fantastic debut novel!
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Review 12 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:October 2, 2008
Bonnie Engstrom
Disturbing! Heart-wrenching! Fabulous and outstanding!An Irishwomans Tale is not for the faint of heart, or for those who want a quick, fun read. This book is daunting, yet captivating. It is soul-searching, heart breaking, but healing. Lacys characters are alive with emotions pain, joy, confusion. Mary, the protagonist, will capture your heart as you take every agonizing step with her to her homeland of Ireland and her glory when she is accepted and loved by her lost Irish family and Christ.An Irishwomans Tale is a multi-generation saga of betrayal, hurt, pain and restitution. Walk with Mary along the craggy Irish sea coast, hug her long lost grandmother and Aunt Jo as she finds peace. Soak in the beauty of Marys Ireland, then return with her to Midwest America and, hopefully, peace for her soul.Lacys story is woven intricately and delicately with passion and sensitivity. Although it sometimes seems complicated, it is so rich in detail that the reader is captivated by its eloquence. When your heart starts to ache you may want to put this book down for a respite. But, you wont, because Marys tale has captured your heart.A must, a marvelous read. Cry, laugh and enjoy.
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Review 13 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:September 29, 2008
A debut novel?? Impossible! Patti Lacys An Irishwomans Tale is an achingly haunting and poignant novel that far exceeds the bounds of a debut novel. Mary Freeman has a great lifea devoted husband, two bright daughters, a successful business and ministry to the homeless, and a best friend who makes her laugh. Everything she needs for a happy and fulfilling life except the peace to enjoy it.From emotional abandonment by her Irish mother at the age of five to searing emotional rejection from an adoptive mother wrestling with her own demons, Marys life has been ravaged by paina pain that her close friend, Sally, unwittingly taps into, unleashing a floodtide of memories too deep to see but never forgotten.Befitting a seasoned storyteller, debut novelist Patty Lacy takes the reader on an unforgettable journey into one womans tortured past where, through the healing grace of God, she discovers the key to a future of hope, peace and forgiveness. A stunningly beautiful tale sure to capture the heart of womens fiction readers and beyond.
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Review 14 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:September 15, 2008
Annette M. Irby
It is not often that you run across a novel with the kind of depth I found in An Irishwomans Tale. I believe part of that is because this book was based on an actual womans story. And what a story it is. Marys tale is full of pain and rejection, poor decisions and regret. But her story is also full of hope and forgiveness. Patti adeptly tackles all the various elements of this multi-generational story. She isnt afraid to delve deeply into human nature. I especially appreciated her ability to portray hope and salvation, as well as redemption of past pain into ministry. I believe the thread of repeated rejection will ring true with many readers. Patti paired the ache of rejection with hope of Gods never-failing love. Pattis novel can even help readers who may relate with the elements of mental illness detect hope in the midst of torment. This story carries you across continents and seas. Its a saga I believe readers of many ages will appreciate as theyre transported to Ireland again and again.
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Review 15 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:September 1, 2008
In this stunning debut novel, we meet Mary Freeman, a nurturing woman who wants to take care of her family and have a bit of peace in her life. But caring for her ailing mother is wearing on her, as is her concern for her youngest daughter. When Mary prays for a friend, she never expects God to answer so quickly or with such a unique woman.An Irishwomans Tale is two stories in one: the tragic heartbreak of young girl who endures one rejection after the other, and a beautiful, healing friendship between two very different women. Like the threads that make up fine Irish linen, Lacy weaves Marys story, combining the past with the present, until both converge and take Mary back to where it all started.Lacys lyrical writing style is perfect for this tale which takes us from Ireland to America and back again. Get ready to settle in with this one, because once you start, youre not going to want to put it down.
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Review 16 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:August 19, 2008
Sheri Boeyink
Patti Lacy did an excellent job painting a picture and portraying the emotions of Mary Freeman's journey in life. I often found myself immersed in the description of the scenery and the senses of the various emotions of the characters. Very well done!
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Review 17 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:August 18, 2008
Cindy Thomson
What is most compelling about Patti Lacy's debut novel is her characters. As Mary Freeman struggles to understand the decisions that were made for her when she was a child, and her friend Sally supports her as she is also drawn into the tale, the reader quickly comes to care about Mary as much as Sally does. Reminiscent of the storytelling in Fanny Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, An Irishwoman's Tale will keep you reading to the end.Cindy ThomsonAuthor of Brigid of Ireland
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Review 18 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:August 13, 2008
Cindy Bauer
A young Irish girl is bewildered when shes sent away not only from her family, but from her homeland as well. Raised by foster parents, she is troubled most of her life, but never tells a soul until one day, she finally lets go of everything inside when she tells a friend. This sets off a string of adventures when the two women head for Ireland in search of answers, healing and closure.The story is true but written as fiction, though the details are so real, so vibrant, its difficult to distinguish between the two. Patti Lacy was able to capture the feelings and emotions of young Marys life from the time she left Ireland at only five, to her discoveries when she returns as a mature woman.Having never been to Ireland but wishing I could travel one day, I found the descriptive prose to be quite enlightening. Lacy has a talent for bringing her story from the crevices of her mind, to life on the pages you and I read. From the beginning, you wont want to stop reading this story of love, hope, sadness and compelling journey through the life of Mary OBrian as she finally opens up and then searches for answers and closure.One of the best written novels Ive read and sure to grab your attention and hold it while you travel across the globe with Patti Lacy as she propels the story of Mary OBrian from Ireland. A most inspiring read!Cindy BauerChristian Fiction Author-Speaker-ReviewerMember of ACFWInspirational Fiction Good for the Soul!www.cindybauerbooks.comwww.reviewsbycindy.blogspot.com
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Review 19 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:August 7, 2008
Bonnie Engstrom
Disturbing! Heart-wrenching! Fabulous and outstanding!An Irishwomans Tale is not for the faint of heart, for those who want a quick, fun read. This book is daunting, yet captivating. It is soul-searching, heart breaking, and healing. Lacys characters are alive with emotions pain, joy, confusion. Mary, the protagonist, will capture your heart as you take every agonizing step with her to her homeland of Ireland and her glory when she is accepted and loved by her lost Irish family and Christ.An Irishwomans Tale is a multi-generation saga of betrayal, hurt, pain and restitution. Walk with Mary along the craggy Irish sea coast, hug her long lost grandmother and Aunt Jo as she finds peace. Soak in the beauty of Marys Ireland, then return with her to Midwest America and, hopefully, peace for her soul.Lacys story is woven intricately and delicately with passion and sensitivity. Although it sometimes seems complicated, it is so rich in detail that the reader is captivated by its eloquence. When your heart starts to ache you may want to put this book down for a respite. But, you wont, because Marys tale has captured your heart.A must, a marvelous read. Cry, laugh and enjoy.
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Review 20 for An Irishwoman's Tale
Overall Rating:
Date:August 6, 2008
Karen Robbins
Be prepared with plenty of reading time before you pick up An Irishwoman's Tale and open it to the first page. Patti Lacy has a character you will immediately grow to love, Mary, the Irishwoman. Lacy takes you step by step through this woman's struggle to understand and come to terms with her past from growing up in the Chicago area to her roots in Ireland. An excellent read--the kind of quality writing that makes you want more. And, as Dennis Hensley says on the backcover, "Solid storytelling."
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