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

  • To Free the Captives by Tracy K Smith

    A stunning personal manifesto on memory, family, and history that explores how we in America might–together–come to a new view of our shared past.

  • A Northern classic and beloved favorite, Two in the Far North chronicles the incredible story of Margaret "Mardy" Murie, called the Grandmother of the Conservation Movement, and how she became one of the first women to embrace and champion wilderness conservation in America.

  • Velma Wallis’s award-winning, bestselling tale about two elderly Native American women who must fend for themselves during a harsh Alaskan winter.

  • We All Live Here follows Lila Kennedy, whose life is in turmoil as she navigates a crumbling marriage, rebellious daughters, and an elderly stepfather. When her estranged father unexpectedly returns after 35 years, Lila learns that even the most challenging relationships can offer valuable lessons about love and family.