In 1990, Ann Leary and her then unknown comic husband Dennis were on a thrilling expenses paid weekend in London that their normally impoverished lifestyle wouldn't allow. Ann was just barely 4 months pregnant. Her water broke that weekend and so begins this tale of her subsequent 6 months stay in England. This is a really charming tale of an England that tourists don't see, of a health care system that is just enough different than ours to be very interesting and of a really down to earth woman with the traumatic birth of her first child. ( )

Pregnancy & birth memoir from the able pen of Leary, who found herself stranded in England after her water broke when she was just 26 weeks pregnant. Delightful, but not for the currently expecting, as there are many close shaves and scary bits. ( )

This was a book my mother borrowed from the library and I happened to come across it on the table at breakfast one day. Next thing I knew, I'd read the first few chapters.

It's a non-fiction book recounting the events of what was meant to be a weekend trip to the UK by comedian Denis Leary and his pregnant wife, Ann. She was only five and a half months pregnant and so had no cause for concern, until her waters broke the morning after they arrived. This started a five month long stay for Ann in London while the baby was kept in the hospital fighting for his life and her husband was back in the US living it up.

This is an emotional book, and that's not surprising given the subject matter. It's quite an unbelievable story and I really felt sorry for Ann not just because of what she had to deal with after the premature birth of her baby, but to do it in a foreign country and on her own as well. There's a lot of comment on the UK, the Brits and our way of doing things which is only natural from an American who is forced to live here for an extended amount of time. However, after a while the constant reminder of how the American way was better than the the British way gets very wearing and annoying. Ann does concede that the NHS was incredible - despite the issue with her health insurance which I couldn't understand at all - but it seems to have done so only because they managed to keep the baby alive until it could travel back to the US with its apparently vastly superior medical system.

It was certainly an interesting read but I found the Brit-bashing to be really off-putting. It seems as though it's written for Americans, rather than Brits. ( )

An excellent, heartfelt story. As a huge fan of the author's husband for many years and a long time before he became "famous", I was quite delightfully surprised that he didn't get the lion's share of attention in the book, but rather limited, yet perfectly placed, cameos.

I can't imagine having to go through such an experience, yet after reading Leary's accounting of such a traumatic time in their lives, I am convinced this book doesn't stop with a delighful, heartwarming read, but will actually provide encouragement for others that find themselves in a similar predicament in their futures. ( )

Travel during pregnancy is generally thought to be okay. But what happens if you dare to leave the US for a quick trip to England and then go into really early labor? That's just what happened to Ann and Denis Leary. A trip that was meant to last for a weekend ended up lasting five and a half months.

Baby Jack is ultimately born in England, three months early and weighing 2# 6oz.

I loved this book. I could really relate to it because of the fact that during our first pregnancy I traveled to London with my husband on one of his business trips. Our trip was in 1995. I read this book in 2006. We moved our family to Surrey, England from Aug 2007 - December 2009.

I have great compassion for Ann and Denis. We chose to move to England. They chose to visit but ended up having to stay, while facing an emergency situation. Ann relates their story with candor and much humor. ( )