#BookReview of #RingOfSalt by Betsy Cornwell

‘We left home on my baby’s first birthday. I hadn’t known when I packed his diaper bag that morning that it would never feel safe to go back.’

[ About Ring of Salt ]

On her son’s first birthday, Betsy Cornwell fled her home, checking into a hotel under a false name so her husband couldn’t find them. In the uncertain months that followed, her fierce determination to give her child what she never had – a safe and stable home – saved them.

In Ring of Salt, Betsy traces her journey from that desperate moment to Ireland’s windswept west coast, where the Atlantic Ocean crashes against ancient cliffs. There, nestled beside a quiet lake in the wilds of Connemara, she discovers a long-abandoned knitting factory – forgotten, but full of possibility. She sets out to restore it into a sanctuary for herself and her son – and, eventually, a creative refuge for single mothers.

As she renovates the crumbling house and fights to keep custody of her son, Betsy begins to rebuild something more: a sense of belonging. In the cool mists of the countryside, and with the help of fellow survivors and an unexpected community, she pieces together a new kind of family.

[ My Review ]

Ring of Salt by Betsy Cornwell published October 16th with Renegade and is described as ‘a powerful memoir of survival, new beginnings, and the quiet, everyday magic of finding home on one of the world’s most storied and soul-stirring coastlines.‘

Recently I read Nesting by Roisín O’Donnell and found it to be a very emotional and affecting tale. Although fictional it felt very authentic, with a storyline that was so very relevant to one too many families today. Ring of Salt had a similarly powerful impact on me except, this time, it wasn’t a fictional story but a factual account of the circumstances one woman found herself in while living on the west coast of Ireland.

Betsy Cornwell is clearly a strong and resilient woman, a role model for many and an example of how pure determination, drive and hope can keep someone from falling off the edge. When Betsy came to Ireland in 2012, she was on a student visa with a plan to work in a hostel on the Aran Islands. She immediately fell in love with Inis Mór, the island she was on, describing it as ‘absurdly wholesome and incredibly romantic’. She enjoyed the work and the company of the other international students, and as the months passed, she felt stronger than ever, more alive and in tune with herself and others. What she had not anticipated was that she would also find her husband. He was ‘the kind of person Americans call Black Irish, who might be read as Spanish or Italian at first glance. He’d clearly graduated with flying colours from the Colin Farrell School of Irish Smolder.’

Tommy was a horse trainer and older than Betsy but age did not come into their relationship. Betsy fell passionately in love with this dark Irish soul who understood her and encouraged her to bloom and be happy. There was the occasional hint that he had a dangerous side but Betsy was blinded by love. Following their marriage, Betsy accepted the lifestyle he offered and the hardship it entailed. She was gloriously in love and that was all that mattered. And it was…until things started to change. Tommy became more controlling and emotionally abusive stripping Betsy of her confidence and independence. When their son Robin was born, Betsy was physically and mentally exhausted until she reached a point of acknowledgement that all was not well in her marriage.

One day she decided she had had enough. She packed her bags and went to a centre in Galway that offered her the much needed assistance to get away from Tommy, but as a non-national her options were limited. Betsy Cornwell is a writer and always had dreams of being a successful one. Writing was her escape valve but also her only form of income so she desperately searched for any writing role that would provide for her and her young son. She slept little, working hard while always looking over her shoulder for Tommy, who was permanently there shadowing her every move.

Betsy had a dream of setting up a refuge for single mothers, a place where they could find solace away from their daily lives. She knew her idea was quite aspirational but Betsy never gave up hope, eventually discovering an abandoned knitting factory for sale ‘in the wilds of Connemara’ that she now calls home.

Ring of Salt is Betsy’s story to date as she struggled through years of difficulty and challenges. Her own personal backstory is not an easy one to read but to see her flourish today is quite an extraordinarily uplifting story. Betsy never ever forgot her child and every decision she made, and makes, is always with his best interests at heart. Betsy suffered so much trauma yet there is almost a fairy-tale element to her story. At one point, homeless and downtrodden, she always kept a light switched on in her mind that she would survive and she would thrive.

I am in actual awe of this inspiring woman. I wish her the very best in life and I do so hope that she has found her forever happy-ending. Ring of Salt is a tremendous read. It is demanding. It is insightful. It is hopeful. Bringing the Connemara coast alive in all its wildness and colour, Betsy Cornwell has written a truly remarkable memoir. Majestic and inspirational with challenging themes and a whole lot of love, Ring of Salt deserves a worldwide audience and Betsy Cornwell deserves so much support for her work. Bravo Betsy and go n-éirí an bóthar leat (May the road rise to meet you).

[ Thank you to Plunkett PR for a copy of Ring of Salt in exchange for my honest review ]

[ Bio ]

Betsy Cornwell is a New York Times bestselling author of six novels and founder of The Old Knitting Factory, an arts residency and retreat space for single parents in Connemara. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Notre Dame and a BA from Smith College, and currently teaches at the University of Galway. She serves as a mentor for the Irish Writers Centre and was the first recipient of their Blue Mountains (Australia) Residency in 2023.

Her debut memoir, Ring of Salt, published with Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster (USA) and Renegade/Hachette (Ireland/UK). She received the Markievicz Award in 2024 for her work on this project.