A review by miguelf
Rust: A Memoir of Steel and Grit by Eliese Colette Goldbach

4.0

Somewhat in the mold of other recent self-experiential books about growing up in the heartland (Hillbilly Elegy, Educated), Rust presents the journey of a woman taking a job at a local steel mill post-college and a following a job painting walls in Cleveland. The angle here would purportedly be showing the socio-economic realities on the ground in the Midwest, but the reality is that the number of extant mills has been ever shrinking and this is more a window into the economic past rather than a commentary on our present. More pertinent to our times would have shown a service related job. Still, the personal story itself is compelling and deeply felt and Goldbach competently tells her plights including bouts with bipolar disorder, overcoming a harrowing incident in college, all the while without asking for pity or requiring judgment. I had put this book on hold thinking it was more of a discussion on heartland job and economic conditions, but stayed for the well told story.