Quest for Eternal Sunshine: A Holocaust Survivor's Journey from Darkness to Light

by Mendek Rubin, Myra Goodman

Overview

Quest for Eternal Sunshine chronicles the triumphant, true story of Mendek Rubin, a brilliant inventor who overcame both the trauma of the Holocaust and decades of unrelenting depression to live a life of deep peace and boundless joy.

Born into a Hassidic Jewish family in Poland in 1924, Mendek grew up surrounded by extreme anti-Semitism. Armed with an ingenious mind, he survived three horrific years in Nazi slave-labor concentration camps while virtually his entire family was murdered in Auschwitz. After arriving in America in 1946—despite having no money or professional skills—his inventions helped revolutionize both the jewelry and packaged-salad industries. Remarkably, Mendek also applied his ingenuity to his own psyche, developing innovative ways to heal his heart and end his emotional suffering.

After Mendek died in 2012, his daughter, Myra Goodman, found an unfinished manuscript in which he’d revealed the intimate details of his healing journey. Quest for Eternal Sunshine—the extraordinary result of a posthumous father-daughter collaboration—tells Mendek’s whole story and is filled with eye-opening revelations, effective self-healing techniques, and profound wisdom that have the power to transform the way we live our lives.

An inspirational biography of a Holocaust survivor overcoming depression and PTSD. An essential new addition to Jewish Holocaust history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781631528781
Publisher:	She Writes Press
Publication date:	04/14/2020
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Mendek Rubin was a Holocaust survivor and brilliant inventor who helped revolutionize the jewelry manufacturing industry, generating numerous patents in the 1960s and 1970s. After he retired from the jewelry business, he invented the equipment to wash and package baby greens for Earthbound Farm—the first company to successfully market ready-to-eat salads for retail sale. Mendek also applied his genius to his own psyche, creating innovative ways to overcome the trauma of the Holocaust and live a truly joyous life. He is the author of two books: Why Not Now, a book of poems and prose, and I Am Small, I Am Big: The Way We Choose to Live, a book about positive thinking written for children. A self-taught artist and nature photographer, Mendek died in September 2012 in Carmel Valley, California, at the age of eighty-seven.

Myra Goodman is a well-known pioneer in the world of organic food and farming, and is the author of three cookbooks.In 1984, she and her husband, Drew, founded Earthbound Farm, which became the largest grower of organic produce in the world. The Goodmans have been credited with helping to bring organic food to the mainstream, and Myra was one of four farmers chosen by the James Beard Foundation and US Department of State to represent the United States in a prominent “conversations” video at the entrance to the US pavilion at the 2015 World’s Fair. She has appeared on national television shows, including Oprah, Regis & Kelly,and Good Morning America, and has been featured in hundreds of publications, including People magazine, the Costco Connection, More, Forbes,The New York Times, and AARP. Myra and Drew have two grown children and continue to live on their original farm in Carmel Valley with their two yellow labs, Oscar and Henry.

Table of Contents

Myra's Introduction ix

Mendek's Prologue xvi

Part I The World I Came From

Chapter 1 Jaworzno 3

Chapter 2 Honor Thy Father 8

Chapter 3 My Brother and Sisters 12

Chapter 4 A Loving Mother 15

Chapter 5 Turning Of The Tides 20

Chapter 6 The Walk 24

Chapter 7 Survival Machine 28

Chapter 8 The Final Days Of War 32

Chapter 9 Liberation 37

Part II The World I Discovered

Chapter 10 A New Beginning 47

Chapter 11 Korea 53

Chapter 12 Teaming Up With Simon 57

Chapter 13 Finding Edith 63

Chapter 14 The Prison Within Me 67

Chapter 15 Searching For Answers 70

Chapter 16 The Pathwork 74

Chapter 17 Dismantling My Fortress 79

Chapter 18 Unearthing My Past 84

Chapter 19 A Time Of Grace 87

Chapter 20 Breaking Away 90

Chapter 21 Finding My Own Path 95

Chapter 22 California 98

Part III The World Inside Me

Chapter 23 The Mechanical Mind 121

Chapter 24 The Fallacy Of Progress 125

Chapter 25 Seeking Solutions 129

Chapter 26 Visualization 133

Chapter 27 My Sanctuary 138

Chapter 28 Remembering Freedom 141

Chapter 29 Embracing My Inner Child 147

Chapter 30 Re-Envisioning My World 151

Chapter 31 A New Light 154

Part IV The World of Wonder

Chapter 32 Choosing The World I Want To See 159

Chapter 33 My True Self 163

Chapter 34 Being Me 166

Chapter 35 Making Peace With Fear 171

Chapter 36 Finding Forgiveness 176

Chapter 37 Happiness 180

Chapter 38 Presence 185

Chapter 39 Coming Home to Love 188

Myra's Epilogue: Now That You Know My Father 191

A Selection of Mendek's Writings 197

Acknowledgments 225

About the Authors 235

Editorial Reviews

2020 Living Now Book Awards Gold Winner in Inspirational Memoir (Male)
2020 International Book Awards Finalist in Self-Help: Motivational
2020 IPPY Awards Gold Winner in Autobiography/Memoir (Personal Struggle/Health Issues)
2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Winner in Autobiography/Memoir
2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Winner in Body, Mind & Spirit
2020 CIBA Mind & Spirit Book Awards Finalist
Named one of the 24 Best Memoirs of 2020 by Parade Magazine

“This heartfelt account of a remarkable life will interest anyone who has suffered trauma or who is overcoming difficulties, as well as those interested in Holocaust survivor biographies.”
—Library Journal

“[Rubin’s] prose is as lucid as it is candidly confessional, and his refusal to simply succumb to self-pity is inspiring. . . . A heartbreaking story of survival and emotional resilience.”
―Kirkus Reviews

“Quest for Eternal Sunshine is an inspiring memoir about the human will to survive. . . . A story that truly inspires without trying hard to do so, and this is what makes the book a remarkable read.”
—Readers’ Favorite five-star review

“Quest for Eternal Sunshine . . . is an inherently fascinating, impressively informative, and ultimately inspiring read.”
—Midwest Book Review

“[Quest for Eternal Sunshine] reflects a forty-year inter­nal jour­ney that is often as fraught and coura­geous as the Israelites’ jour­ney through the desert towards free­dom. By the end of Rubin’s jour­ney, he, too, is whole and tru­ly lib­er­at­ed. . . . There is much that can be learned from Mendek Rubin and his life. Though his generation is passing, his wisdom and unabashed belief in the good­ness of mankind should give us all hope for years to come.”
—Jewish Book Council

“Mendek’s story is one of the grand, improbable, tragic, heroic, and triumphant memoir stories of our times—more unlikely than fiction. It demands to be shared.”
—Gordon Wheeler, president of Esalen Institute, clinical psychologist, author, and teacher

“A moving and inspiring story of courageous change from enormous suffering to a wisdom that transforms heart and mind! We can all learn from this.”
—Jack Kornfield, author of A Path With Heart

“This luminous book is a gift to the world.”
—Nikiko Masumoto, co-author of Changing Season: A Father, A Daughter, A Family Farm

“Mendek’s unique and beautifully told story is one of the most inspiring healing journeys I’ve ever read. I’ve savored this gem of a book many times, and each time, I am amazed and filled with awe. If you want to be deeply inspired, buy this book today.”
—Laura Davis, author of The Courage to Heal and I Thought We’d Never Speak Again

“Mendek is good medicine for these times. We can be nourished by witnessing his progression from darkness to light as a path of healing and a vehicle of awakening. This book is an affirmation of the entirety of what it means to be human, and it communicates the possibilities inherent in living our lives openheartedly. Learning from Mendek was not just an intellectual experience—my heart was truly touched, and I will never be the same.”
—Patricia Wolff, Buddhist teacher, chiropractic physician, homeopath, and psychotherapist

“Mendek’s story is moving and realistic. His journey is remarkable precisely because it is so honest and human. In a time when millions of people around the globe are displaced, this narrative gives us hope for the future. It is a treasured contribution to the understanding of human resilience and our potential for change.”
—Rabbi Leah Novick, author of On the Wings of Shekhinah: Re-Discovering Judaism’s Divine Feminine

“Quest for Eternal Sunshine is the stirring story of a Holocaust survivor who managed to transform his life through an authentic search for spiritual enlightenment and the discovery of the power of love. The book provides a brand-new perspective on how the Holocaust affected not only those who were personally touched by it but also the members of succeeding generations.”
—Robert Greenfield, journalist and author of National Jewish Book Award winner Temple

“This is a must-read narrative that stands out among the vast literature of the Holocaust for its honesty and passionate embrace of life, love, joy, and purpose in the wake of unimaginable loss. Rubin’s hard-earned, lifelong quest for self-awareness and inner growth in the wake of extreme loss is brutally honest, truly inspiring, and eventually allowed him to engage fully in a beautiful world once again. We can all learn so much from this wise and wonderful man.”
—Carol Lynn McKibben, author of Racial Beachhead: Diversity and Democracy in a Military Town

“Shining throughout Mendek Rubin’s remarkable story—one unlike any other—is a daughter’s love and devotion to her father. These pages don’t only make evident Myra Goodman's conviction in the value of bringing Rubin's transformative journey to light, but also her belief in the imperative to remember and to document history. Not only is this the story of one man and one family’s life, it is a deeply moving testament, a love story, from a daughter to her dad.”
—Patrice Vecchione, author of My Shouting, Shattered, Whispering Voice: A Guide to Writing Poetry and Speaking Your Truth

“In one of his poems, Mendek Rubin asks, ‘What if I asked a growing tree to show me the way?’ Quest for Eternal Sunshine is a growing tree—it shows us the way past memory and conditioning to the present moment, that ‘magical world’ which, Mendek assures us, is waiting for us all.”
—Elliot Ruchowitz-Roberts, author of White Fire: Poems

“I wish I’d known Mendek Rubin, but reading this book is the next best thing. It’s the story of his lifelong mission to find joy, meaning, and love after enduring the hell of Nazi concentration camps. He was able to literally change the way his mind worked. I found myself underlining and writing stars in the margins, so I could go back and savor his wisdom and his humor. His story is humbling, riveting, and inspiring. I’m certain it will take its place as a gemstone of Holocaust literature.”
—Sara Davidson, New York Times bestselling author of Loose Change and Joan: Forty years of Life, Love, and Friendship with Joan Didion

“This father and daughter quest to repair the traumatized mind enhances our knowledge. We are grateful that Mendek’s story did not die with him.”
—San Diego Jewish World

From the Publisher