Title: My Life: Fact Is Stranger Than Fiction
Author: Norman Rubin
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 9798369409664
Pages: 152
Genre: Non-Fiction / Memoir
Reviewer: Susan Brown

Read Book Review

What defines a life well-lived? You’ll find an answer in author Norman Rubin’s collection
of 50 narratives which capture his fulfilling, purposeful, and meaningful life during his 83
years, as of the writing of this book, which epitomize the definition of well-lived.

Born in 1940, in the Bronx, the author grew up at a time much different eight decades
later when he created this collection of stories in an attempt to capture on paper the
memories that defined his life. He writes, “Those hot summer days in front of our
building on 178th street live only in my memory now.” Although we learn quite a bit
about Mr. Rubin’s personal and work life in these narratives, we are also privy to his
perspective on the journey, with his high school sweetheart and wife Judy, that took him
to interesting places and provided access to a host of intriguing people.

A few facts; Mr. Rubin graduated from Evander Childs High School in the Bronx,
attended City College New York where he received a degree in electrical engineering.
Early on he discovered a love of tinkering with all things electronic. This served him well
in his various work experiences where he was referred to often as “Mr. Fix It” or “Mr.
Wizard.” He reminisces about his work life, “I was fortunate in that I was never bored at
any time during my career from 1963 until I retired in 2006, and had the opportunity to
do creative work that helped make the world a better place.”

In spite of one of his college advisors advising him to, “Drop out you’ll never make it,” in
his pursuit of an electrical engineering degree, Mr. Rubin succeeded as an engineer in
multiple work environments. Highlights of his career include work leading up to the
building of the Hubble Telescope, designing voice communication for the NASA Space
Shuttle, as well as a wireless EKG monitoring system, plus developing systems related
to sonar, radar and biomedical instrumentation.

In between work-related commitments, he and his life partner Judy had multiple unique,
humorous and challenging experiences — they even had a ghostly one. There is much
to like about My Life: Fact is Stranger Than Fiction. It’s entertaining, written in a
matter-of-fact style that does, indeed, present a host of facts about the author’s family
and friends, insights into what it is to be an electrical engineer at a time when
technology was helping to drive innovation and how to enjoy a lifetime of memories.
Share them!

I like memoirs. I enjoy reading about other people’s lives. They’re not made-up stories.
They’re grounded in real life experience. I always learn something; a takeaway that I
can apply to my own life. Here’s what I gleaned from the author: “Friendships are simply
fragile” and “it is “the personal relationships in our lives that really make life worth living.”
That is indeed a Fact! If you enjoy memoirs that highlight the unpredictable nature of
life while offering inspiration and insight, this book is a must-read.