Mary Kay Zuravleff American Ending

Washington Post, "An Author Mines Her Family's Origins to Write American Ending"

MKZ answers Carole Burns's questions about her foray into historical fiction—and the paradoxes inherent in being American.

Praise for American Ending

"An exhilarating tale about what this country promises and withholds."

—Margaret Talbot, staff writer for The New Yorker

"The old and forever new story of immigration. Did Mary Kay Zuravleff time travel to write this book? It's as if she truly lived in the past to bring us a novel of the moment." —Jane Hamilton, author of The Excellent Lombards

"Gorgeous. In Yelena's clear-eyed telling, in her honesty and love, every painful obstacle to attaining that intractable American promise of a better life is made unique—wholly fresh and achingly believable. Oh, and the food!"

—Alice McDermott, author of The Ninth Hour

"A deeply felt, humane, and timeless treatment of a timeless story. Mary Kay Zuravleff has created an unforgettable heroine, one with the courage to write her own story and the creativity and heart to not just pull herself out of her circumstances, but to bring others with her."

—Ana Menéndez, author of The Apartment

MKZ

Mary Kay Zuravleff is the award-winning author of American Ending, a gritty and darkly humorous novel inspired by her family's saga and the fact that she could not find her Appalachian coal mining ancestors—immigrants of the Old Believer Russian Orthodox faith—on any bookshelf. How long does it take to write a book? This one has been in the works ever since her mother named her for her two grandmothers: Mary, who married her Russian-born husband at fourteen and had eleven children, and Kay, who forced the mining company to pay in cash rather than scrip and then got her husband away from the mines before black lung killed him.

Mary Kay is also the author of Man Alive!, a Washington Post Notable Book, as well as The Bowl Is Already Broken and The Frequency of Souls. She is the winner of the American Academy's Rosenthal Award and a multiple recipient of the DC Artist Fellowship. Born in Syracuse, raised in Oklahoma City, and educated in Houston and Baltimore, she lives in Washington, DC.

Want a signed copy? Order here and in the comment form at checkout, ask for a signed copy and whatever inscription you'd like.

"Immersive and compelling. In the dark of Pennsylvania's coal mines, Yelena's voice is both the light and the canary."

—Helen Simonson, author of The Summer Before the War

American Ending Across America

I'm on a quest to have a book group or library in all 50 states discuss my book! See the details here.

At bedtime, Ma asks her American-born children "Russian ending or American ending?" before their bedtime story, a refrain that haunts the book. Readers I meet share their own family's struggles with me—or have a story of a generous act that turned the tide for their ancestors. Seems most people have an "American ending" to tell.

I invite you to tell your "American ending" on YouTube, Instagram, or Tiktok in 3 minutes or less, and send the link to MKZ here for possible posting on this site.

Here's the amazing Desiree Cooper, Pulitzer-Prize nominated author, talking about her "American ending" after reading the novel.