Rust

"Elements of Tara Westover’s Educated . . . The mill comes to represent something holy to [Eliese] because it is made not of steel but of people."—New York Times Book Review

"[Eliese Goldbach] finds camaraderie with her fellow laborers and the perspective necessary to face past trauma and find her place in the world. This is a journey of discovery for both the reader and the author."—NPR

"At times, Rust reads more like a great novel than an autobiography—it’s full of evocative descriptions of a hot, deafening workplace where the risk of deadly injury is constant and sexist put-downs are a daily, if not hourly, occurrence. Initially drawn to the blue-collar life for its promise of the financial stability she so desperately needs, Goldbach comes to realize that her job at the mill could just as easily lead to a complete emotional breakdown. Ultimately, Goldbach’s fearless, eye-opening book reminds us that the bonds between people can transcend their ideological differences—creating hope even in the darkest times and the most unexpected places."—Apple Books Review

“Eliese Colette Goldbach uses formal experiment, broken narrative, and a voice that admits doubt and questions the terms of its telling to fight silencing. Masterful form is often a question of well-managed rupture.”—Leslie Jamison, The New York Times bestselling author of The Recovering

"There have been a lot of books written about life in industrial cities in the Midwest, but relatively few written by people who actually live in them, and few so heartfelt and unsparing. Rust is at once a unique memoir and a broad indictment of America's broken promise that anyone who came of age in the 21st century will find painfully familiar."—Sarah Kendzior, The New York Times bestselling author of The View from Flyover Country

"A haunting meditation from the far shores of addiction, mental illness, and obsession."—Ladette Randolph, author of Leaving the Pink House

"Rust is a brave, heartfelt memoir whose pages overflow with hard-earned wisdom. Goldbach's story of embodying our national extremes—conservative vs progressive, religious vs secular, white collar vs blue—has endowed her with a singular ability to see through our partisan delusions and identify what, truly, unites us still as Americans. If your heart, like mine, feels poisoned by this era of political division, Rust may just be the antidote for which you've been searching."—John Larison, author of Whiskey When We're Dry

“The steel mill burns on in the heart of Cleveland, and in the pages of Eliese Collette Goldbach’s transformative debut. This is indeed a memoir of steel and grit, the extraordinary work of every ordinary day. But like all great stories, Rust is also a love story—about a craft, a city, and the communities we forge there. Goldbach reminds us that what we make in turn makes us who and what we are.”—Dave Lucas, author of Ohioana Book Award for Poetry winner Weather

"Goldbach turns in a gritty memoir of working in a steel mill while wrestling with the world beyond . . . An affecting, unblinking portrait of working-class life."—Kirkus Reviews

"Bringing her perspective as an outsider—both as a woman and a liberal—to this insightful account of the steel worker's lot, Goldbach displays refreshing candor and hard-earned knowledge about the issues that divide us and the work that unites us."—Booklist

"This beautifully told, nuanced memoir will strike a chord with fans of J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy, and pique the interest of sociology scholars."—Library Journal

"A female steelworker's soulful portrait of industrial life. Goldbach's evocative prose paints a Dantean vision of the mill . . . but she discovers in the plant’s quirky, querulous employees an ethic of empathy and solidarity that bridges ideological divides. The result is an insightful and ultimately reassuring take on America’s working class."—Publishers Weekly