Published in Winter, 2006    Excerpt   Reviews   Submit Your Review

AN EXCERPT FROM MY DEAR MARLENE, :

"Marlene. . . I am getting ready to head for the basement to try to out-fox this tornado heading our way.  If I don’t make it, you will never know I wrote this letter.  Oh, well!  The wind and the rain have already started.  I am gathering things to go to my safe corner of the basement.  I will watch for you to fly by.  If I see you, know that I will not be far behind.  I will bring a deck of cards.  Love you, dear one.  Know that I will be right there with you as you go through your surgery (tomorrow.)"

REVIEWS OF MY DEAR MARLENE, :

"Please let Ann know how much we appreciate all the letters she sent during Mom's last weeks, as well as this book, honoring her memory."

Vicki Amos
Marlene's daughter
Calabas, California

"Marlene would call me into the bedroom to ask if the postman had arrived yet.  She looked forward to receiving her daily letters."

Paul Porter
Marlene's husband
Lee's Summit, Missouri

Published in June, 2005     Excerpt   Reviews   Submit Your Review

AN EXCERPT FROM IRISH REFLECTIONS:

The Ryans took my daughter, Janice, my son-in-law, Kraig, and me to Moran's Oyster Cottage, located on the Weir in Kilcolgan. It has been famous for its fresh seafood for almost three hundred years and is currently being run by the seventh generation of the Moran family. Hugh seated us in a "snug." I am quite sure a snug was intended to comfortably accommodate one couple. The five of us squeezed in.... None of us could cross our legs without kicking the person across from us. We all tried at least once.

A man standing at the end of the bar smiled at me every time I glanced out the door. Sometimes he would add a tiny wave. Janice picked up on it first, and all four...started teasing me about my new boyfriend. I tried to ignore him and them. I made eye contact with him, and he flashed me a huge grin. I turned to my group and said, "If - and I repeat IF - I were looking for a new fella, I would at least pick one with teeth."

Hugh pounced right back with, "Oh, he has teeth. I saw them on the bar when I went to the loo. They're sittin' right there beside his pint, they are."

REVIEWS OF IRISH REFLECTIONS:

"Irish Reflections is an insightful and thoughtful book about one special woman's journey through her life and travels. She writes with humor and love about her travels, her heritage and her experiences. She was trying to get home from Ireland to visit her family in Kentucky on 9/11/01 when she discovered that she was the only traveler on the plane without a partner to share the uncertainty, fear, and horror of the event that would reshape the way we all view our place in the world today. She never lost her sense of humor or took herself too seriously as she coped with each new challenge. Irish Reflections is a good read and a comforting reminder that there is always reason to hope, learn and grow."

Suzanne Vitale
Bowling Green, Kentucky USA July 9, 2005

"Refreshing and brutally honest, the arthor captures situations of life that merit raised eyebrows. It made me think of life in a while new light. Invest an afternoon (or two) into this book and you'll see what I mean."

Julie Preston
Dallas, Texas USA    August 7, 2005


"Ann Milholland Webb's first book about her adventures in Ireland was "The Connemara Bus." It left us asking, "Then what happened?" Her latest offering, "Irish Reflections," answers many of those questions with wit and insight as she takes a wry look at her Irish friends and the situations she faced. It is not all skittles and beer. The account of her experiences on 9/11 and the days that followed is compelling and sobering to read. Closing her Irish business was a great disappointment, yet her humor shows through it all. Irish Reflections is an enjoyable read. Perhaps you'll ask after you finish it, "Then what happened?"

Jerry F. Eaton
Topeka, KS USA    March 10, 2006

If you've read Irish Reflections, you may submit your review here.

Published in 1999   Excerpt   Reviews   Submit Your Review

AN EXCERPT FROM THE CONNEMARA BUS:

As a child, I would sit under the dining room table at my grandparents' home on Sunday afternoons, and listen to the stories the adults were telling for the umpteenth time. I loved them. I think I became the family genealogist around the age of six. I handed in my 'Family Tree' as a class assignment in the third grade and have been working on updates ever since.

REVIEWS OF THE CONNEMARA BUS:

"I bought this in the Celtic Ranch, Weston, Missouri, when the author was there for a book signing.  Not only does she have something to say, she says it beautifully and directly.  This is a book we can all relate to, Irish or not!"

Deb Goodrich
Author of The Day Dixie Died (Stackpole, 2001)

“Ann’s book is funny, poignant, and informative, and much more than a history of The Connemara Bus and the people involved. It tells the stories of two families and how their lives came together. But more than that, in a moving and gentle way, Ann reveals her own inner journey through pain to a place of healing. Ann’s book is a must for anyone who has ever been in need of a healing journey. The Connemara Bus operates daily throughout the tourist season and the tour is balm for the soul, whatever its condition.”

Eileen Bennett, Director/Editor
Gaillimh Anois (Galway Now) Magazine
Feature Story, “Ann’s Incredible Journey”

“This beautifully (written) book entitled, The Connemara Bus: A Journey Through the Past in Ireland, was launched by Mayor Declan McDonnell (The Lord Mayor of Galway). Written by American Ann Milholland Webb, this work records for posterity a time when the bean-a-tí’s (lady of the house) workload consisted of having to cook, bake, preserve, feed chickens, gather eggs, churn butter, make clothing, mend, wash, iron, have the children, mind the children, milk the cow, tend the livestock, and whatever else it took to make a good home. This is a special book about place and person.”

Peadar O'Dowd, Irish Historian
The Connacht Sentinel, Galway, Ireland
“Heritage of Galway…A New Book to Treasure”

“Ann truly found her spiritual home when she discovered Connemara through the eyes of Hugh Ryan, the driver of the Connemara Bus. The book is one of those easy to read books, one that gets you hooked. It is not only beautifully descriptive, but the dialogue is credible – probably because it is exactly as Ann remembers it that afternoon she spent on the Connemara Bus. It is a lovely book.”

Bernadette Ni Fhlatharta
Connacht Tribune, Galway, Ireland
“Trip on Connemara Bus Sparks Book”

An Independence (Missouri) author has found her way onto the best-seller list by turning a life-changing bus ride into a nonfiction novel. (She) saw her book “launched” at the Boat Club in Woodquay, Galway, Ireland. Four days later, it was the No. 1 non-fiction book in western Ireland’s largest bookstore, Eason-Galway. Webb is taking the proceeds of her book (to) open an art production company (so) the money will stay in Ireland.

(The Kansas City) Business Journal

If you've read The Connemara Bus, you may submit your review here.