Letters: Our American Story
Book Reviews
Toddson5th
5.0 out of 5 stars Our family’s place in history
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2026 Format: Paperback
I enjoyed this book immensely. It was well written and inspired me to research my own family lineage. The details of history intertwined with Ann’s family search were extraordinary. The use of scriptures throughout the book gave a great depth of continuity both of the physical and spiritual.
Lauren Beckwith
5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read of 2026!
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2026 Format: Paperback
This very well-researched book made me want to read more of it the more that I read! As a millenial who hasn't lived through the times described, I really appreciated learning about history from the educational and eye-witness perspectives of those who’d lived it. But what I liked even more about this book was its tone. It inspires thoughtfulness and gratitude for our country and for those who have gone before us. Wirtz doesn’t just write; she celebrates times past and uplifts the future generation with her positivity in the present.
Cathy
5.0 out of 5 stars If you like storytelling aspects, history, life lessons, you'll enjoy this book
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2026
Format: Kindle
To be clear, I gave this book five stars because it was so well-written, and it was obvious to me that the author was well-organized and performed a lot of research in writing her book. This book has so much depth. The author discusses her family lineage, including the connection with Susan B. Anthony and one of her letters. The author provides a historical record of so many people and their connections.
More letters are shared. To see letters dated 1903 and beyond is interesting and amazing. If you’re a history buff, it’s to be appreciated. The letters in this book tell stories. Faith and family and loss are included topics. The book sometimes reads like a memoir, but then returns to biographical information and more letters.
What impressed me so much is how detailed and organized the book is. The letters provide wonderful visuals of their content, and the letter writers and the reader have a conversation in a sense. Throughout many of the letters, you could sense the intertwined emotions. Most of the time while reading the letters, I kept revisiting the times I read “84, Charing Cross Road” by Helen Hanff about her letters with a London bookstore owner. I wasn't disappointed in choosing this book to read.
Diane Donovan
Editor, Donovan's Literary Services (Review Published March 2026)
Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review (Review Published April 2026)
Letters: Our American Story is a narrative about America’s history that injects a personal touch into what is too often a collection of dates and events alone. How best to absorb the basics of American identity and perseverance than through correspondence and the passion of those who lived through tumultuous times and events?
Key connections are made between famous individuals and ordinary citizens, extraordinary and regular lives, and American regional cultural values and the broader milieu of American psyches, embracing genealogical lineages and individual efforts alike.
Spiritual threads and devotion to faith also connect the dots between such experiences as women’s suffrage, family heritage, and Ann Brubaker Greenleaf Wirtz’s modern life. This places historical precedent in a category unparalleled in other histories or memoirs, creating connections to influential individuals who fostered faith and understanding by example.
Reflections on personal milestones big and small mark this journey through American experience:
We look ahead in life, never imagining we can’t experience our expectations. Lois D. Spano sadly died from cancer ten months shy of her seventy-ninth birthday. She was thirty-eight when she wrote her message. I’m thankful for her impact and for the role model she presented not only as a teacher but as a wonderful human being. Gentle humor, positivity, and encouragement are unforgettable attributes and are impossible not to pass on. Her touch on my life was carried forward, and it’s gratifying to know I had a small impact on Winston’s life when he was in fourth grade.
Because of its wide-ranging notes, Letters: Our American Story happily defies pat categorization. At once a memoir, a history, a survey of faith and influence, and a collection of letters that draw together seemingly disparate topics and individuals, the story that unfolds holds the power to attract an uncommon audience of memoir readers, history enthusiasts, and those who appreciate literary insights.
This journey, rooted from a World War II letter from her father, Kenneth L. Brubaker Sr., is well worth undertaking as the author draws together facets of her past and how different forces and individuals joined via circumstance and serendipity to contribute to the fabric and melting pot of America.
How do we impact the world around us? How does history carry forward the notes we add into American experience? How are heroes, some applauded and others virtually unknown except to their immediate circles, created?
Librarians looking for standouts for book clubs and patrons alike will find Letters: Our American Story easy to highly recommend to a wide audience of general readers and scholars with interests ranging from memoirs and American culture to genealogy, letter-writing, and spiritual reflection.
All these elements coalesce in a powerful tribute to the American psyche and its interconnected culture, making for a survey that is hard to put down and thoroughly thought-provoking reading, powered by letters that form a foundation of hard-hitting written reflections:
The choices she made in handling her grief encourage us to choose a positive path forward. Her words demonstrate that life does go on, though at times hard and overwhelming; that other people’s grief can give us perspective on our own struggles; and that expressing our compassion never goes unnoticed.
Letters: Our American Story
Ann Brubaker Greenleaf Wirtz
Resource Publications
979-8-3852-5518-4
$37.00 Hardcover/$22.00 Paperback/$9.99 eBook
www.wipfandstock.com
www.amazon.com
Leanna Sain
Through each of our histories runs a connecting thread that weaves our stories together into the beautiful tapestry of American history. Ann has gifted us with a glimpse into her section of that tapestry by combining meticulous research, her own lyrical prose, and a treasure trove of precious letters she's saved through the years.
Leanna Sain, author of Amelia Island Suspense Series and the G.R.I.T.S. Novels
Merikay McLeod
Themes of history, family, and faith weave through this engrossing record of one woman's life within the larger American story. Her enthusiasm for history and her family's connection with it makes for an intriguing read. From a great grandmother caught up in the Salem Witch Trials to her father's description of liberating Dachau during World War II, this book is a living testament to the values and actions that have made America great.
Merikay McLeod, author of The Day After His Crucifixion
Carol Guthrie Heilman
Ann Wirtz takes the reader on a journey inspired by a World War II letter from her father, Kenneth L. Brubaker Sr. It is highly personal, yet she also reveals America's journey through her connections to historical figures, including Benjamin Franklin and Susan B. Anthony. Ms. Wirtz encourages us to 'cherish our own family's story, for it is part of the fabric that makes up America's 250th Anniversary.' This book is a remarkable read to enjoy and savor its many treasures.
Carol Guthrie Heilman, author of Becoming Hattie Mae and the Agnes Hopper Series
Eric Williamson
All too often our history remains hidden. Letters: Our American Story unveils the richness of the past. In a captivating narrative style, Wirtz immerses the reader in vibrant detail. Her gifted writing takes you through the personal histories of tragedy, loss, doubt, and faith.
Eric Williamson, Minister of Discipleship; First Baptist Church Hendersonville, North Carolina
5.0 out of 5 stars Our family’s place in history
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2026 Format: Paperback
I enjoyed this book immensely. It was well written and inspired me to research my own family lineage. The details of history intertwined with Ann’s family search were extraordinary. The use of scriptures throughout the book gave a great depth of continuity both of the physical and spiritual.
Lauren Beckwith
5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read of 2026!
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2026 Format: Paperback
This very well-researched book made me want to read more of it the more that I read! As a millenial who hasn't lived through the times described, I really appreciated learning about history from the educational and eye-witness perspectives of those who’d lived it. But what I liked even more about this book was its tone. It inspires thoughtfulness and gratitude for our country and for those who have gone before us. Wirtz doesn’t just write; she celebrates times past and uplifts the future generation with her positivity in the present.
Cathy
5.0 out of 5 stars If you like storytelling aspects, history, life lessons, you'll enjoy this book
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2026
Format: Kindle
To be clear, I gave this book five stars because it was so well-written, and it was obvious to me that the author was well-organized and performed a lot of research in writing her book. This book has so much depth. The author discusses her family lineage, including the connection with Susan B. Anthony and one of her letters. The author provides a historical record of so many people and their connections.
More letters are shared. To see letters dated 1903 and beyond is interesting and amazing. If you’re a history buff, it’s to be appreciated. The letters in this book tell stories. Faith and family and loss are included topics. The book sometimes reads like a memoir, but then returns to biographical information and more letters.
What impressed me so much is how detailed and organized the book is. The letters provide wonderful visuals of their content, and the letter writers and the reader have a conversation in a sense. Throughout many of the letters, you could sense the intertwined emotions. Most of the time while reading the letters, I kept revisiting the times I read “84, Charing Cross Road” by Helen Hanff about her letters with a London bookstore owner. I wasn't disappointed in choosing this book to read.
Diane Donovan
Editor, Donovan's Literary Services (Review Published March 2026)
Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review (Review Published April 2026)
Letters: Our American Story is a narrative about America’s history that injects a personal touch into what is too often a collection of dates and events alone. How best to absorb the basics of American identity and perseverance than through correspondence and the passion of those who lived through tumultuous times and events?
Key connections are made between famous individuals and ordinary citizens, extraordinary and regular lives, and American regional cultural values and the broader milieu of American psyches, embracing genealogical lineages and individual efforts alike.
Spiritual threads and devotion to faith also connect the dots between such experiences as women’s suffrage, family heritage, and Ann Brubaker Greenleaf Wirtz’s modern life. This places historical precedent in a category unparalleled in other histories or memoirs, creating connections to influential individuals who fostered faith and understanding by example.
Reflections on personal milestones big and small mark this journey through American experience:
We look ahead in life, never imagining we can’t experience our expectations. Lois D. Spano sadly died from cancer ten months shy of her seventy-ninth birthday. She was thirty-eight when she wrote her message. I’m thankful for her impact and for the role model she presented not only as a teacher but as a wonderful human being. Gentle humor, positivity, and encouragement are unforgettable attributes and are impossible not to pass on. Her touch on my life was carried forward, and it’s gratifying to know I had a small impact on Winston’s life when he was in fourth grade.
Because of its wide-ranging notes, Letters: Our American Story happily defies pat categorization. At once a memoir, a history, a survey of faith and influence, and a collection of letters that draw together seemingly disparate topics and individuals, the story that unfolds holds the power to attract an uncommon audience of memoir readers, history enthusiasts, and those who appreciate literary insights.
This journey, rooted from a World War II letter from her father, Kenneth L. Brubaker Sr., is well worth undertaking as the author draws together facets of her past and how different forces and individuals joined via circumstance and serendipity to contribute to the fabric and melting pot of America.
How do we impact the world around us? How does history carry forward the notes we add into American experience? How are heroes, some applauded and others virtually unknown except to their immediate circles, created?
Librarians looking for standouts for book clubs and patrons alike will find Letters: Our American Story easy to highly recommend to a wide audience of general readers and scholars with interests ranging from memoirs and American culture to genealogy, letter-writing, and spiritual reflection.
All these elements coalesce in a powerful tribute to the American psyche and its interconnected culture, making for a survey that is hard to put down and thoroughly thought-provoking reading, powered by letters that form a foundation of hard-hitting written reflections:
The choices she made in handling her grief encourage us to choose a positive path forward. Her words demonstrate that life does go on, though at times hard and overwhelming; that other people’s grief can give us perspective on our own struggles; and that expressing our compassion never goes unnoticed.
Letters: Our American Story
Ann Brubaker Greenleaf Wirtz
Resource Publications
979-8-3852-5518-4
$37.00 Hardcover/$22.00 Paperback/$9.99 eBook
www.wipfandstock.com
www.amazon.com
Leanna Sain
Through each of our histories runs a connecting thread that weaves our stories together into the beautiful tapestry of American history. Ann has gifted us with a glimpse into her section of that tapestry by combining meticulous research, her own lyrical prose, and a treasure trove of precious letters she's saved through the years.
Leanna Sain, author of Amelia Island Suspense Series and the G.R.I.T.S. Novels
Merikay McLeod
Themes of history, family, and faith weave through this engrossing record of one woman's life within the larger American story. Her enthusiasm for history and her family's connection with it makes for an intriguing read. From a great grandmother caught up in the Salem Witch Trials to her father's description of liberating Dachau during World War II, this book is a living testament to the values and actions that have made America great.
Merikay McLeod, author of The Day After His Crucifixion
Carol Guthrie Heilman
Ann Wirtz takes the reader on a journey inspired by a World War II letter from her father, Kenneth L. Brubaker Sr. It is highly personal, yet she also reveals America's journey through her connections to historical figures, including Benjamin Franklin and Susan B. Anthony. Ms. Wirtz encourages us to 'cherish our own family's story, for it is part of the fabric that makes up America's 250th Anniversary.' This book is a remarkable read to enjoy and savor its many treasures.
Carol Guthrie Heilman, author of Becoming Hattie Mae and the Agnes Hopper Series
Eric Williamson
All too often our history remains hidden. Letters: Our American Story unveils the richness of the past. In a captivating narrative style, Wirtz immerses the reader in vibrant detail. Her gifted writing takes you through the personal histories of tragedy, loss, doubt, and faith.
Eric Williamson, Minister of Discipleship; First Baptist Church Hendersonville, North Carolina