The Salt God’s Daughter

• “When a blue moon rises, mistakes can be undone, lost children can find their homes, and sea lions can shed their skins. The selkie myth lies at the heart of Ruby’s (The Language of Trees, 2010) second novel…. This is a bewitching tale of lives entangled in lushly layered fables of the moon and sea.”–Kirkus Reviews
• “Certainly other readers have had this experience: you discover a book that is thrilling in its truth about the world, a book that captures your imagination so completely that you actually feel scared by the thought you might have never held this book in your hands… The Salt God’s Daughter is that kind of book.”-S. Berlain, The Rumpus
• “…a lyrical, luxuriantly mystical meditation on being female. The Salt God’s Daughter is astonishing and unusual because selkies–mythical shape-shifting creatures who are human beings on land and seals in the water–are part of the story. In the otherworldly universe Ruby creates, the existence of selkies do not detract from the authenticity of the characters. Quite the opposite: the myth sharpens the characters’ humanity… Ruby’s novel comes as close as possible to achieving a deep understanding of the possibilities of being female.” —Leora Tanebaum, The Huffington Post
• “Ruby’s second novel (after The Language of Trees) imbues the complex relationships between mothers and daughters with legends and feminist mysticism . . . Ruby’s writing is elegant and insightful…” —Publishers Weekly
• “The book beautifully evokes scenes of two girls adrift in the late 70s and early 80s bohemian beach culture…the result is a breathtaking, fiercely feminine take on American magical realism. Ruby spins sweeping mythologies without straying far from the story of a young woman just trying to survive.” —Interview Magazine
• “Lushly woven with elements of folklore, Ruby’s novel is a captivating inquiry into the generational, wayward bonds of mothers and daughters.”—Booklist
• “This is a bewitching tale of lives entangled in lushly layered fables of the moon and sea.” —Kirkus Reviews
• “Certainly other readers have had this experience: you discover a book that is thrilling in its truth about the world, a book that captures your imagination so completely that you actually feel scared by the thought you might have never held this book in your hands; that you might have missed it completely. Ilie Ruby’s The Salt God’s Daughter is that kind of book.” —Stacy Bierlein, The Rumpus
• “Three generations of indelibly original women wrestle with the confines of their lives against a shimmering backdrop of magic, folklore, and deep-buried secrets. About the bonds of sisters, mothers, and daughters, and the refusal to accept limits, this is a story as heartbreaking, gritty, magical, and real as a waking dream, with a sense of place so immediate, you can feel the ocean’s salt spray. To say I loved this book is an understatement.” —Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You
• “Open The Salt God’s Daughter and it is as if you are walking through a door, where things are at once utterly recognizable and utterly mysterious, like life, and like an ancient fairy tale, or a myth from a lost continent, another time and place. Ilie Ruby offers up a story that is both exquisitely fantastical at the same time that it maintains the feel of unblinking realism. This one’s a story in which to lose one’s self in the best possible way.” —Joyce Maynard
• “Magical and gripping, The Salt God’s Daughter captivated me from the very first sentence and has stayed with me long after I finished reading. A lyrical exploration of the timeless search for belonging and the complicated bonds between mothers, daughters and sisters, I devoured the novel in one sitting and then immediately ordered copies for my own mother and sister.” —Jillian Cantor, author of The Transformation of Things
• “Propulsive, mythic, and rhythmically mastered….a singular, knock-out work of fiction about love and the evolution of identity.” —James Ragan
• “What a rare pleasure this novel is, a kind of embarrassment of riches, Ilie Ruby has given us a work glowing with the emotive illuminations of two sisters, caught in exile, in homelessness, in a parentless subculture which they both survive by the pure transcendent powers of their personal fantasy-life and myth. The bond of sisterhood prevails. I cannot recommend this passionate look at family and society and outcast-ness enough. To be a part of their journey is to look at our own travels through deprivation, rejection, poverty and find their quiet ultimate triumph, to feel their fulfillment, as if it were our own. I look forward to what this talented writer offers us next!” —Leora Skolkin-Smith author of Hysteria
• “Ruby’s book is an eloquent unfolding of language brilliantly crafted. The Salt God’s Daughter is beautiful writing of life, love, relationships between mother and daughter, families of one’s own making, and the push/pull of the moon on the course of relationships. Lovely!”-Katherine Pinard, McIntyre’s Books

The stories of the women who populate THE SALT GOD’S DAUGHTER were inspired by the confluence of real life and Celtic myth, which I learned from a folksong my mother liked to play on the guitar, The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry. While the myth is the map, its many roads reflect the experiences of my grandmothers, of my mother, of my friends, and of four young girls I never knew but whose histories found me and begged to be written down and shared. My wish was to illuminate the female experience through generations–not only those times that are shrouded in shadows, but also those that are lovely and beautiful, and made indelible with light.

At its heart this is a story about true love, sometimes found between mothers and daughters, in the secrets of sisters, and in the arms of the first person with whom you ever shared your heart. When all is said and done, this novel belongs to resolute sisters Ruthie and Dolly. Their journey of discovery and survival is at the center of this story.

The Salt God’s Daughter, a story woven with Celtic myth and Jewish mysticism, follows three generations of women from the 70s to the current day. It is a story about what it means to be an outsider in this day and age—a woman who is “different” and who must transcend the limits of society. Mostly, it is a story about the bonds between mothers and daughters who must transcend rites of passage with strength and self-acceptance, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. The story has been lauded by reviewers, including Kirkus Reviews, and authors like Caroline Leavitt, Joyce Maynard, Beth Kephart, and many more. One night last year, I sat in my office doing research on cyberbullying and I came across the stories of 17 young girls who had been bullied at school and whose lives had tragic outcomes. At first I found four girls, then 6, then ten, then 17. Seventeen girls who lost their lives because of bullying. As I sat there, I felt a strong sense of purpose, and I knew I had to write this book, one that would tell their story and that of all women who are shamed for their sexuality, in one way or another. I wrote the 17 names out on a piece of paper on my desk and I knew this would be the next book I would write. There was no doubt in my mind. And so, I started the book that night, and didn’t stop writing until it was done. The first words capture the energy of this story: “We ran wild at night, effortless, boundless under a blood-red sky.” As a fiction writer and a mother to three, this book is my way of creating change in the world. I wrote it for those 17 girls, for my two beautiful daughters, and for all of you. If you love a magical story, you will be transported, and if you are in need of healing I hope you find healing in this book—it is here, everything I know about how the body and soul recovers to find love and inspiration. This book is proof that second chances and miracles exist, and the best gift I can share with you, today and every day.