“Beautiful and deeply moving . . . Cornwell explores what it takes to start over with honesty, humor, and courage. A must-read.”

“Betsy Cornwell has written a wondrous book. Free of the pitfalls of sentimental and saccharin prose one often sees in memoir, it is a book of resilience and fortitude, and a testament to the power of determined women. This book renewed something in my own heart. A beautiful tale of love, survival and community.”

“Ring of Salt was so vast and tender and urgent, it was almost like reading a novel. I couldn’t put it down. I haven’t cheered for a heroine like Betsy in ages.”

“Book clubs will pull Betsy Cornwell from these pages and into their circles in triumphant solidarity, rallying around her bravery, heralding her riveting story as one of their all-time favorites. She adeptly brings readers alongside for the journey—I was rapt in anticipation through every turn, feeling every piece of perfect prose, every sweeping onset of emotion, every moment of grit and grace. A lyrical, intimate account of self-empowerment, survival, and the intricate assembling of courage necessary to take your child by the hand and know that where you’re going is more powerful than where you came from.”

“Ring of Salt is the best memoir I’ve read in years. Think ‘Practical Magic’ set on the Irish coast. As transportive as a fairytale, but as real as the Connemara wind on your face, every page pulses with the wild spirit of Ireland. This memoir is for anyone ready to believe in the power of resilience, reinvention, and the communities that catch us when we fall.”

“Betsy Cornwell’s Ring of Salt is a beautifully written story of resilience, hope and hard-earned triumph. In sentences that shimmer like the incandescent Irish coastline, Cornwell enriches our definitions of survivorship and shows us how she found magic in everyday life. Readers will cheer for her as she weaves together a community—both near and far—that rallies around her as she leaves the dark chapters of her past behind and builds an abundant life.”

“A searingly painful yet stunning and hopeful piece of work. I am in awe of Cornwell’s determination and courage and her ability to draw meaning from the darkest times. She has created a profound and beautiful piece of art from these experiences.”

“A powerful and deeply empowering book, Ring of Salt is a hymn to the strength of community, a rallying cry against systemic injustice, and a testimony to the resilience of one woman’s spirit. Beautifully written, this is an immersive exploration into the joy of finding home in unconventional places. ”

“A truly beautifully written, heart wrenching memoir that brings the power of community, and the power of women, to every page. This is a survivor’s story, but it’s also a fairytale, one of darkness and light that has the happiest of endings - an ending that, like the circle of life that Betsy Cornwell brings so viscerally to the page, is just the beginning. Betsy takes you with her on an incredible journey from the cloying damp of an isolated cottage, chill with her fear, to the warmth and sweetness of of sunripened wild strawberries and stunning sunsets, her child in her arms every step of the way. Emotional, spellbinding, inspirational, Ring of Salt is a tour-de-force of a book. ”

“A stunning memoir, intimate and vast at once. Ring of Salt is a story of human interactions - nurturing, sexual, supportive and destructive, which Cornwell captures in all their complexity, intensity and inconsistency. What I love is her refusal to simplify or polarise her experience. Instead, she wrangles with the messiness of human connection, of the twin pull of an abusive relationship, the exhilaration and exhaustion of parenting, the power and abjection of motherhood. Braver still, is her insistence on looking, face-on, at our material reliance, debunking the myth of the American Dream to remind us of our dependency on one another, our interconnectedness. This is a very special book.”

“Reading ‘Ring of Salt’ is a profoundly inspiring experience. The memoir eloquently illustrates how the traumas of life can be converted into creativity and magic, enabling beauty and hope to coexist with pain. Cornwell’s writing facilitates healing and empowerment, resonating deeply with readers through each meticulously crafted sentence. ”

“This is a scary but ultimately heartening story and Cornwell writes with a novelist’s energy and eye for drama. Genuinely compelling!”

“Clear-eyed, open-hearted, and brimming with hope, Betsy Cornwell’s Ring of Salt is a beautifully told memoir. As an artist, an ex-pat fleeing family violence, and an immigrant searching for a home in the world, she writes with urgency and candor, pulling readers along on her wild rollercoaster into love and heartbreak and out again. Readers will root for her as she makes a new home “in the hearts of others,” always with gratitude for the life-saving community she’s knitting around herself out of goodwill. There are echoes here of ancient creation myths, of the timeless need for harmony with the natural world, and Cornwell’s deep kinship with all the women, past and present, who have muscled a better life into existence for their children. ”

“When I grow up, I want to write like Betsy Cornwell! She’s poetic and gritty and funny and heartbreaking... often in the same paragraph. Ring of Salt captures what it’s like to rebuild from the ruins, to mother while mourning, and to find a safe home inside yourself when the world hasn’t offered one. Cornwell doesn’t mistake escape for freedom, and she writes beautifully about what comes after survival—the long, brave, often invisible work of building a new life. It’s honest, lyrical, and quietly revolutionary.”

“A beautiful and deeply moving memoir. I could not put it down. Cornwell explores with honesty, humor and courage what it takes to start over, and chronicles how she drew strength from female friendship, motherhood, community, and Ireland itself. A must-read.”