The Autumn of Ruth Winters

A Novel

By: Marshall Fine

Narrated by: Joyce Bean

Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

In this heartwarming story about second acts and second chances, a no-nonsense retiree, very much set in her ways, must learn to adapt and make peace with her past in order to build a fulfilling future.

Ruth Winters is retired, widowed, and resigned to spending the rest of her life alone in her suburban home. She likes her routine and uses it to avoid having to spend time with other people. She probably wouldn’t call herself fulfilled, but it’s too late now to go chasing happiness.

Then three things happen at once: a beloved niece makes a big announcement, an old flame reaches out, and her estranged sister receives life-changing news. Ruth finds herself reconnecting with people she thought were long gone from her world, as she is forced to reconsider her expectations for this phase of her life.

None of this fits into Ruth’s routine—in fact, the whole thing just blows to bits. But when Ruth starts to pick up the pieces, she discovers that maybe it’s not too late to make something new after all.

©2024 by Marshall Fine. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“A late-in-life coming-of-age tale, proving that reconnection and reconciliation don't have an age limit. Fans of Hazel Prior's How the Penguins Saved Veronica and Lee Smith's Silver Alert will find lots to like in Fine's heartwarming novel about unexpected connections at unexpected times.” —Booklist

“An utterly beautiful tale of familial love that cannot be extinguished through conflict and anger and the rewards of stepping out of one’s comfort zone at any stage of life.” —Kyra Davis, New York Times bestselling author of Just One Night

“If it is possible to write a bildungsroman about a woman in her sixties, Marshall Fine has done it. Fine takes his reserved heroine, Ruth Winters, on a journey through buried resentments, stifled grief, and petty slights until she finally accepts the love and compassion that was within her all along. She blossomed on the page like Austin’s Elinor Dashwood right before my eyes. Marshall Fine has created a beautiful and moving character, that if we open our hearts, we will see Ruth Winters everywhere.” —Griffin Dunne, author of The Friday Afternoon Club