Keystone Poetry

This Is Not About Us

When their beloved sister passes away, Sylvia and Helen Rubinstein are unmoored. A misunderstanding about apple cake turns into a decade of stubborn silence. Busy with their own lives—divorces, dating, career setbacks, college applications, bat mitzvahs and ballet recitals—their children do not want to get involved. As for their grandchildren? Impossible.

With This Is Not About Us, master storyteller Allegra Goodman—whose prior collection was heralded as “one of the most astute and engaging books about American family life” (The Boston Globe)—returns to the form and subject that endeared her to legions of readers. Sharply observed and laced with humor, This Is Not About Us is a story of growing up and growing old, the weight of parental expectations, and the complex connection between sisters—a big-hearted book about the love that binds a family across generations.

More Adult Books

  • The Tradition explores cultural threats on black bodies, resistance, and the interplay of desire and privilege in a dangerous era.

  • The Women tells the story of Frances “Frankie” McGrath, a twenty-year-old nursing student who joins the Army Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War. As she navigates the chaos and destruction of war, Frankie discovers her own strength and idealism, ultimately facing the challenges of returning to a divided America. This novel illuminates the sacrifices of women in service and their enduring impact on history.

    Read More about "The Women"...

  • Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, in the 1990s, Hanif Abdurraqib witnessed a golden era of basketball, one in which legends like LeBron James were forged and countless others weren’t.