The Healer of Corky Row
Nuala Conneely strives to merge the ancient truth of one world with the relentless modernization of another.
The Healer of Corky Row
By Virginia Ryan
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Born from the razed cottages of Ireland and the storied mills of Fall River, this is a saga of the courage it takes to carry the heart of an old world into the relentless transition of the new.
The year is 1908 when Irish healer Nuala Conneely arrives in a dying Massachusetts mill town burdened with the Book of Knowledge and a geis – a vow to maintain the ancient traditions as the only way to save her soul for her role in her father’s death.
Nuala uses potions, prayers, and mysterious Celtic rituals to protect her loved ones and neighbors in Corky Row. For Nuala, it’s all about living a life in balance and maintaining the natural order.
But her well-intended interventions have consequences, particularly on her nine children as they make their way in a world much more modern than the one Nuala came from.
Set against the backdrop of the Depression, war, and a time of social change, Nuala’s resolve falters and she questions her devotion to her geis. When a young Azorean woman with secrets of her own wants to become her apprentice, Nuala has a chance to decide for herself what it means to live a life in balance and what exactly is the natural order.
Layered with history, mysticism, and emotional depth, The Healer of Corky Row explores family relationships, secrets, and the question of how to stay true to oneself even in the most challenging times.
Virginia Ryan weaves a complex tale of faith, forgiveness and healing, and how the weight of the past and the secrets it holds shapes a family’s history.
— Anne D. LeClair, Bestselling author of The Halo Effect
Congratulations to author Virginia Ryan on a debut novel rich in wisdom, honesty, and empathy.
— Lauren Wolk — NYT bestselling author of Wolf Hollow, Beyond the Bright Sea, Candle Island, and more.
An Excerpt from Chapter Fifteen
“Magdalena reminded her of her younger self, the one that was curious and brave, the one willing to do anything to protect and care for her child. Nuala liked that she honored the past with her respectable, old-fashioned clothes. In a way, she understood Magdalena more than she understood her own modern children.”
A Note from the Author
I was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, a place once known as the “textile capital of the world.” Growing up, I saw only dilapidated factories, but as I matured, I realized those mills were the very reason my ancestors and thousands of other immigrants risked everything in the name of hope. I knew my first novel had to take place in a fictionalized version of my hometown and feature the kind of great, big, rambunctious family I grew up with.
The “bones” of the story were there, but the heart of the book didn’t arrive until a trip to Ireland. It was there I discovered the history of the Claddagh village—a thriving community razed by the government in the 1930s, forcing its residents to migrate across the world. I was struck by the incredible determination it takes to bear the bittersweet status of having your heart in one place when your feet are in another. By the time my flight landed back in the States, I had everything I needed to begin writing Nuala’s story
