Ann Leary – författare

“Equal parts heartfelt and humorous,” this memoir by comedian Dennis Leary''s wife recounts the difficult birth of their child while on holiday in London (People).

When Ann Leary and her husband, then unknown actor-comedian Denis Leary, flew to London in the early nineties for a brief getaway during Ann''s second trimester of pregnancy, neither anticipated the adventure that was in store for them. The morning after their arrival, Ann''s water broke as they strolled through London''s streets. A week later their son, Jack, was born weighing only two pounds, six ounces, and it would be five long months before mother and son could return to the States.

In the meantime, Ann became an unwitting yet grateful hostage to Britain''s National Health Service—a stranger in a strange land plunged abruptly into a world of breast pumps and midwives, blood oxygen levels, mad cow disease, and poll tax riots. Desperately worried about the health of her baby, Ann struggled to adapt to motherhood and make sense of a very different culture. At once an intimate family memoir, a lively travelogue, and a touching love story, An Innocent, a Broad is utterly engaging and unforgettable.

“A witty, engaging account.” —Elle

“Despite the serious situation, Ann manages to mine both the humor and heart of her ordeal in this charming memoir.” —Lifetime Magazine

The Good House, by Ann Leary, is funny, poignant, and terrifying. A classic New England tale that lays bare the secrets of one little town, this spirited novel will stay with you long after the story has ended. Now a major motion picture starring Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline! Hildy Good is a townie. A lifelong resident of a small community on the rocky coast of Boston''s North Shore, she knows pretty much everything about everyone. And she''s good at lots of things, too. A successful real-estate broker, mother, and grandmother, her days are full. But her nights have become lonely ever since her daughters, convinced their mother was drinking too much, sent her off to rehab. Now she''s in recovery—more or less. Alone and feeling unjustly persecuted, Hildy finds a friend in Rebecca McAllister, one of the town''s wealthy newcomers. Rebecca is grateful for the friendship and Hildy feels like a person of the world again, as she and Rebecca escape their worries with some harmless gossip and a bottle of wine by the fire—just one of their secrets. But Rebecca is herself the subject of town gossip. When Frank Getchell, an old friend who shares a complicated history with Hildy, tries to warn her away from Rebecca, Hildy attempts to protect her friend from a potential scandal. Soon, however, Hildy is busy trying to protect her own reputation. When a cluster of secrets becomes dangerously entwined, the reckless behavior of one person threatens to expose the other, and this darkly comic novel takes a chilling turn.