We don't have to wonder what life was like in the shtetl or rely on second-hand stories. While Orthodox Jews did not traditionally write memoirs, Pinkhes Dov Goldenshteyn (1848-1930), a shochet (kosher slaughterer), tells us in raw detail about his life as a poor orphan in Ukraine without nostalgia or whitewashing. With the translation of these compelling memoirs into English, a new generation can also feel his complete commitment to Judaism while also seeing the difficulties of Jewish life in nineteenth century Ukraine. Despite all the challenges including severe poverty and antisemitism, his hard life was full of faith and love, with plentiful moments of shared joy.

In the first of the two volumes, which traces the years from his orphanhood through his maturation into a Torah scholar and shochet, Goldenshteyn endures tremendous hunger, suffering, and humiliation. Despite these hard truths of life, Goldenshteyn's story uplifts readers. His ironclad trust in God carries him through his difficult times. His struggles bring him into personal contact with the Tzemach Tzedek (17890-1866), the Lubavitcher Rebbe at that time. His search for a means of earning a living brings him to where the celebrated town rabbi, Rabbi Meir Leibush Malbim, receives him with honor. Goldenshteyn is later charged with bringing a cherished etrog to the Lyever Rebbe. His faith and his personal integrity ensure that his life is filled with blessings even if he chronically lacked food and money.

Volume two begins in 1873, when Goldenshteyn obtains his first position as a shochet in Slobodze, and it follows him to the Crimea, where he endures 34 years of vicissitudes. In 1913, he fulfills a dream of immigrating to the Land of Israel, hoping to find tranquility in his old age. Instead, he is met with the turbulence of the First World War, as battles rage between the retreating Ottoman Turks and the advancing British forces.

The story of Pinkhes Dov Goldenshteyn's life is enhanced by his literary skill. He writes like a professional storyteller, leading readers in suspense until we turn every page hoping to learn the next twist in his eventful life. Ultimately, the reader sees how the different pieces of his life fit together like a puzzle, as if a plan was always there waiting for Goldenshteyn to walk into it. As we read about Goldenshteyn's tumultuous life, we learn about one person's unvarnished experiences in the legendary shtetl of a world that no longer exists.