What Ruth Learned: A Novel - Hardcover

Hayne, Alexandra

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1683151925 ISBN 13: 9781683151920

Publisher: Culicidae Press, 2026

Synopsis

A novel of secrets, reinvention, and the stories we inherit

Ruth Sullivan never expected to return to Los Angeles. But when her life stalls out, she is pulled back into the city of her childhood — and into the mystery of her family’s past. What begins as a quest to remake her own life becomes a journey through forgotten journals, faded photographs, and the glittering shadows of 1950s Hollywood.

In a dual-timeline narrative that spans decades, Ruth uncovers the truth about a woman who once called herself C-Note, a priest with a past, and a marriage that unraveled under the weight of ambition and silence. As Ruth pieces together the fragments of lives she never knew, she must confront her own choices, her fractured family, and the legacy she is poised to carry forward.

What Ruth learns does change her life, but not in the way she first imagined.

About this title

About the Author

Alexandra Hayne was born and raised in Los Angeles. She graduated from Van Nuys High School at sixteen, left home, and promptly flunked out of UCLA. A year later, a little older and maybe a little wiser, she returned to college, eventually earning a bachelor's degree in English from California State University Northridge and a master's degree in journalism from UC Berkeley. An award-winning journalist, she worked for thirty-five years as a reporter and editor in print and online news media in California, Nebraska, and Iowa. She is the mother of three and grandmother of four. When she is not writing, reading, or spending time with friends and family, she can often be found listening to live blues at one of the many fine dive bars in Omaha, Nebraska, where she lives. What Ruth Learned is her first novel. Her second novel is a work in progress.

Edition details

• Publisher: Culicidae Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1683151925
• ISBN 13: 9781683151920
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 308