@@theaelizabet thank you for watching and commenting! 💚☘️

@@stuartgriffin1001 it really was a series of almost magical connections! ☘️💚

Thank you, Gina! It was an incredible experience! ☘️💚

It was a great trip! Thanks, Sue!

@@literarylove123 it really was!

@@carolinesmercantile4290 Hi Caroline. Thanks for this comment. I try hard not to include spoilers in my book reviews. I don’t think there are any in this one. These terms can be used a bit arbitrarily, but, in general, when we talk about thrillers, we are talking about crime, horror, and detective fiction that is largely plot-driven. They aim to give the reader an emotional experience emphasizing a build up of suspense, anxiety, anticipation, etc. There are often lots of twists and turns in the plot, cliffhangers, and “red herrings.” The term “literary fiction” is a bit harder to define, but generally, we’re talking about fiction that is more character-driven than plot with more attention given to the style and language of the writing. Liz Moore does write mysteries, but they’re not exactly “edge-of-your-seat” thrillers. She spends a great deal of time developing her characters with a great deal of attention given to the style of her writing. I hope this helps to clarify. Thanks for watching and for commenting.

@@Amamamareads thank you for watching and for leaving me this lovely comment! I hope you get to go someday too! ☘️💚

@@katsbooks2631 oh how wonderful! I do t have the cookbooks myself, but I know that I bought them as gifts for someone.

@@BookBuds thank you, Joe. Yes, it was extremely powerful…

@@JamesRuchala thanks, James. After that day in County Laois, we actually had four or five straight days of sunny weather with temps in the high sixties and low seventies. Everyone said they hadn’t had that kind weather all summer. Then it got cold and rainy again at the end….

Thanks so much, Jess. It was an incredible trip!

Thank you for this lovely comment, Ellen. It was an incredible trip, and these first experiences in finding my grandmother's home really set the tone.

Thank you for this lovely comment. Ireland is a very special country indeed, and I hope that I am able to make it back again in this lifetime. I've never met people so open and genuinely warm and friendly as I met there. I did do a series of "bookish shorts"--one minute videos--at a variety of bookish locations along the way, but not nearly enough. But I will try to include more about the trip in future videos as well. Thanks again for watching and commenting in such a lovely way.

What an incredible story! I am sorry that your great grandfather died so young and that your grandmother, too, was cut off from her family history. As I said in the video, I wasn't prepared for just how powerfully I would feel these connections to my long ago past. Just amazing.

Thank you, Mariandrea. It was an incredible trip, and it started with this powerful emotional connection to my roots. The people of Ireland are just so warm and friendly and welcoming.

Oh Kevin, you are SO kind. Thank you. Thank you a million times over. I felt like I needed to share this video as I have been talking about this trip since I started the channel! But I was afraid, too, that I couldn't do justice to the experience. I'm pretty tech-challenged. Anyway, thank you for watching and for commenting, as always, so thoughtfully.

Thank you so much for watching, Elaine, and for this lovely comment. It was a very important trip, for sure. It will stay with me forever, I think.

@@BookChatWithPat8668 very much enjoyed. My husband is from Ireland and one of his family did a history of their family. But we never made the trip. Such a beautiful country. Loved that the taxi driver was so helpful and sweet. The memories will definitely last a lifetime. Such an important trip and adventure.

@@Cobaltdragon I don’t think I knew that your husband is from Ireland. Such a beautiful country!

@@BookChatWithPat8668 lol I don't mention him much in my videos🤭 my fur kids more air time, hehehehe

Thank you so much for watching and for leaving me this lovely comment, Diane. I know that I am changed by this trip. It was so powerful in so many ways. Thank you again.

You are very kind, Troy. I have often felt that if I ever did write a book, it would be about my beloved grandmother. Thank you for your kindness.

Thank you, Heather, for watching and for commenting. It was such a powerful experience. I hope I. get to return to Ireland again, but I think that the impact of this trip will be with me forever.

Hi Brian. Thank you for watching and for leaving me this lovely comment. I did not know that William Trevor had lived in Port Laoise. I think I have a lot of distant relatives there. We didn't really explore Port Laoise on this trip as it was just our destination for getting the taxi driver, but it's where my grandmother used to say she came from. I guess it's the only town that people might have heard of because her actual village does not even appear on most maps. Anyway, it was a very meaningful trip. Thanks again for tuning in and sharing in my journey.

@@JillAstoreca thank you, Jill! I thought of you a lot on this trip. I was completely surprised by the intensity of my emotional response to finding these important sites in my family’s story. Thank you for watching and for leaving me this lovely comment. 💚☘️

@@vickicoleman2474 thank you, Vicki. Pat Durkin is an angel on earth. This was an intensely emotional experience. I’ll treasure these memories forever. 💚☘️

@@BookishChas oh I hope so, Chas! 💚☘️

@@TimeTravelReads thank you, Melissa! It was a very powerful experience. ☘️💚

@@awebofstories an angel here on earth! Thank you, Melinda! ☘️💚

@@constancecampbell4610 thank you so much, Constance! Just an incredible experience. ☘️💚

Thank you, Gavin. It was such a powerful experience. Thanks for watching!

@@teresateri4803 thank you so much for this lovely response! ☘️💚

@@readandre-read thank you so much for this lovely comment, Angelia! It was an incredible experience all around. ☘️💚

Thank you! ☘️💚

I’d love to return. I don’t think I could leave home and family here, but I’d love to return to Ireland one day. Thanks, Allen. ☘️💚

@@BookChatWithPat8668 Me, too. ☺

@@AaronReadABook thank you, Aaron. Pat, the taxi driver, was an angel on earth. ☘️💚

Thank you, Josh. I’d been talking about this trip for so long, I felt like I needed to bring you all along with me in whatever way I could. 💚☘️

I’m glad you did. And I’m glad that the trip was fulfilling to you.

Thank you, Arianne. It was an incredible series of events. ☘️💚

Thank you! It was a really important day in my life. Ireland is a very special place indeed. Thanks for watching! ☘️💚

Thank you for this lovely comment. I guess my family is more recently arrived here in the early 20th century. I did visit Waterford too, another very significant Irish city. Thanks so much for tuning in and commenting. ☘️💚

@@Nina_DP thank you, Nina. Yes, I’m overwhelmed by their courage. 💚

Thank you, Debs. It was an incredible experience on so many levels. ☘️💚

Thank you, David.

He was a gem! I will never forget him. ☘️💚

I felt very close to her the whole time. 💚☘️❤️

Thank you, Helen, for following this journey all these months I’ve been talking about it! 💚

Thank you, Phillip. The flight was long and crowded and made me sick. The adventure was incredible, though. 💚☘️

@@BookChatWithPat8668: you fine adventurer!

Sad and exhilarating, yes! Oh the Irish are great storytellers!

@@BookChatWithPat8668: The only match for the Irish, is the Jewish - my paternal grandparents were an incredible pair - an inspiration!

Thank you, Mariandrea! 💚

@@LibroParadiso-ep4zt that’s a good description of it. But I’ve also returned quite sick, so it’s been good to sleep in my own bed and try to recuperate. It was an incredible trip, though.

@@vickicoleman2474 thanks, Vicki. More to come soon.

@@reneewisch6798 thanks, Renee. I blame the plane ride over. Lots of coughing and sneezing all the way and all that recycled air. Ugh.

Thanks, Melinda. Hope you're doing well. The trip was pretty incredible, but I've come home sick. Hope to get an Ireland video done some time this week.