Irish authors talk about domestic abuse with Finding Our Voices
Author Betsy Cornwell is flanked by Finding Our Voices CEO and founder Patrisha McLean (L) and Lauren Stockless of the Maine Irish Heritage Center. Stockless is one of three acclaimed authors zooming in from Ireland in March to talk about the domestic abuse in their books for the Finding Our Voices Book Club. Cornwell attended South Berwick Academy and moved to Ireland in her early 20s as chronicled in her memoir Ring of Salt. (Photo by Lauren Stockless)
Author Betsy Cornwell is flanked by Finding Our Voices CEO and founder Patrisha McLean (L) and Lauren Stockless of the Maine Irish Heritage Center. Stockless is one of three acclaimed authors zooming in from Ireland in March to talk about the domestic abuse in their books for the Finding Our Voices Book Club. Cornwell attended South Berwick Academy and moved to Ireland in her early 20s as chronicled in her memoir Ring of Salt. (Photo by Lauren Stockless)Authors of the Novel of the Year and Non-Fiction Book of the Year in 2025's Irish Book Awards are among the March guests of Finding Our Voices, talking online about the domestic abuse in their books.
The events are free and open to everyone through the Finding Our Voices Book Club. The public is also welcome to join livestreaming events of the talks at the public libraries in Bath, Damariscotta, Camden, Belfast, and Ellsworth.
The Finding Our Voices Irish Author Series launches on March 3, at 4 p.m., with Roisin O'Donnell talking about her debut novel Nesting, chronicling a young mom escaping psychological terrorizing by her charismatic husband and doing what she can to keep her daughters safe.
March 24, at 1 p.m., Betsy Cornwell will talk about Ring of Salt, her memoir of being swept off her feet by a dreamy horse trainer in Ireland only to find herself in a nightmare, and getting back on her feet with the help of a community of women helmed by alumni of Smith College.
Jacqueline Connolly caps the special Finding Our Voices series on March 30, at 2 p.m., with a talk about her memoir Deadly Silence that chronicles the murder of her sister and three nephews by her brother-in-law, a high school principal.
Co-sponsors of this Irish events include Solas Nua, the Washington DC-based group promoting the finest of Irish arts in the U.S., and Haven Horizons, a national group in Ireland committed to preventing domestic abuse and coercive control that lists and distributes Deadly Silence as one of its 2026 "Five Books That Can Save Your Life."
The Finding Our Voices Book Club meets online about five times a year. It hosts talks with international authors writing about domestic abuse, with past guests including Roddy Doyle, Andre Dubus lll (House of Sand and Fog), Rachel Louise Snyder (No Visible Bruises), Diane Rosenfeld (The Bonobo Sisterhood) and Kate Moore (The Women They Could Not Silence).
The nonprofit's Book Club "is one more way we are opening eyes, minds and hearts to the domestic abuse all around us," said Patrisha McLean, CEO and founder of Finding Our Voices, in a news release.
Other authors on the 2026 Finding Our Voices Book Club schedule include the star of the Netflix documentary Bad Vegan, Sarma Melngailis, with her new memoir; Beth Macy (Paper Girl, Dopesick); and Rosie Batty, who was thrust into becoming the leading crusader against domestic violence in Australia when her 11-year-old son was murdered by his father at a sporting event.
To sign up for the Finding Our Voices Book Club visit https://findingourvoices.net/book-club
Finding Our Voices is the grassroots non-profit and sisterhood providing resources to Maine survivors of domestic abuse that include an online support group, financial assistance, and access to free dental care. The CEO/Founder, Patrisha McLean, also hosts the Let’s Talk About It podcast. For more information visit https://findingourvoices.net
