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An Irishwoman’s Tale: A Novel

Patti Lacy
Kregel Publications (2008)
ISBN 9780825429873
Reviewed by Jeneke Lesak for Rebecca’s Reads (6/09)


You are sure to be moved by Patti Lacy’s touching novel “An Irishwoman’s Tale.”  At the age of five, young Mary is forced to go to America and live with complete strangers for reasons never explained.  Her earliest memories are those of being sent away, unwanted; of ugly faces around an oak table splashing tea about, discussing her fate as if she was not even there. 

She grows up in America with her cold adoptive family: her father a philandering mayor, and her mother, a bristling and distant woman.  And the ties to Ireland never cease to quit in her heart.  So much of Mary’s life is dependent on these unanswered questions. Why did her mother send her away?  Who was her real father?  Why did God allow it all to happen in the first place?  She feels that for her life to be more complete or at least more tolerable, she must know the truth about her past.  What she finds is that the truth hurts, and it is necessary to face in order to heal the pain.  Mary does face her own demons and conquers them with the help of God. 

Lacy’s writing is exquisite.  She masters the oppressive character of the adoptive mother.  Her descriptions of the Irish landscape, culture, and her use of the dialect make me imagine I am actually in Ireland, standing at the cliff’s edge, eating cabbage soup, fighting the bitter cold, and then coming face to face with the woman who sent me away: “Mary couldn’t reconcile this woman with the one she’d imagined for so long, the one for whom she’d lugged the box of memories across the Atlantic.  One special item, worse for wear after the decade, was a Valentine, foil hearts pasted onto a picture cut out of one of Anne’s old Good Housekeepings.  Mary had labeled the creation My Real Mom.  One look at the bleary eyes across the table told Mary that the picture had been a lie.”  Her words demonstrate beautifully the trials of a lost soul yearning for acceptance and resolution. 

Although, after the turning point, the book segues into a Christian proclamation, I believe that anyone, regardless of religious background, will find this book heartrending, but inspiring and full of hope.  Delve into this richly-crafted novel, “An Irishwoman’s Tale” by Patti Lacy, and discover how a suppressed woman emerges with incredible strength and finds the acceptance she has long desired.

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