— from Press Release Black Heron Press
“Ms. Goldenstern takes us on a journey that guarantees nothing, neither love nor wealth nor security nor even the sustainment of one’s own life. Yet we come to empathize with these men in their younger and older versions, with the women who come into their lives, and with their errant mother, through their successes and failures. Though In Their Ruin is Ms. Goldenstern’s first novel, she is an accomplished stylist. Her lyrical style and its measured tone, and her knowledge of the novel’s milieu make this novel a significant contribution to American literature and to the literature of Chicago and its surroundings.”
In Their Ruin received the Black Heron Press Award for Social Fiction for 2024.
In Their Ruin was a finalist in Chicago Writers Association’s Book of the Year contest in the traditional fiction category. It was eventually awarded the second-place award of Honorable Mention.
The Story Ends -- The Story Never Ends 