LEARY, Ann (Lembeck) 1963(?)-

PERSONAL: Born c. 1963; married Denis Leary (an actor and comedian); children: Jack, Devin (daughter). Education: Attended Emerson College.

ADDRESSES: Home—Roxbury, CT. Agent—c/o Author Mail, William Morrow/HarperCollins, 10 East 53rd St., New York, NY 10022.

CAREER: Screenwriter.

WRITINGS:

An Innocent, a Broad, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2004.

Also author of television scripts.

WORK IN PROGRESS: A continuation of her memoir.

SIDELIGHTS: Ann Leary is the author of An Innocent, a Broad, a memoir of the birth of her son, Jack, in 1990. A writer for television and film, Leary is married to actor-comedian Denis Leary, who at that time was still struggling as an unknown. When he flew to London to perform for the British Broadcasting Corporation, she, five months pregnant, decided to accompany him for a short vacation. That vacation stretched out to five months when Leary's water broke and her son was born a week later, three months premature.

The Learys were fortunate, however, in that she delivered Jack at London's University College Hospital, which has an outstanding neonatal unit. Denis had to return to the states to work, and although she made new friends in the hospital and received support from friends and family, Ann Leary was left in England, lonely and fearful for her baby's future. After being released from the hospital, she found an apartment where she and her son remained until Jack's lungs were mature enough for the flight home. One of their last outings in England took them to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where Denis was performing. Deirdre Donahue called An Innocent, a Broad a "sometimes hilarious, often wrenching memoir." A Kirkus Reviews contributor commented that Leary "is one of those rare chroniclers of motherhood able to find the middle ground between sentimentality and science." A Publishers Weekly contributor called the memoir "an easy read that finds the humor in this trying time in Leary's life."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Leary, Ann, An Innocent, a Broad, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2004.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 2004, Beth Leistensnider, review of An Innocent, a Broad, p. 1016.

Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2004, review of An Innocent, a Broad, p. 71.

Library Journal, April 15, 2004, review of An Innocent, a Broad, p. 110.

People, May 31, 2004, review of An Innocent, a Broad, p. 102.

Publishers Weekly, February 9, 2004, review of An Innocent, a Broad, p. 68.

USA Today, April 22, 2004, Deirdre Donahue, review of An Innocent, a Broad.

ONLINE

Bookreporter.com,http://www.bookreporter.com/ (October 23, 2004), Terry Miller Shannon, review of An Innocent, a Broad.

Litchfield County Times Online (Litchfield, CT), http://www.countytimes.com/ (April 9, 2004), Pat Conway, interview with Leary.*