A Posthumous Father-Daughter Collaboration
Quest for Eternal Sunshine—A Holocaust Survivor’s Journey from Darkness to Light is based on an unfinished manuscript my father, Mendek Rubin, wrote about his life and healing journey that I discovered after he passed away in 2012. I dedicated four years to writing the book, which required me to untangle, edit and synthesize hundreds of pages of memoir, philosophy, poetry and affirmations my father had written over the course of two decades. I also had to fill in the blanks of his life story using recorded conversations, artifacts, international research, memories, and interviews with his only surviving sibling, wife, older daughter, and extended family. It was truly a posthumous father-daughter collaboration!
My hope is that my father’s remarkable story, and the lessons he learned throughout his life, will help others access the peace and joy he discovered and believed was everyone’s birthright.
A remarkable story…
Quest for Eternal Sunshine shares the remarkable true story of a brilliant inventor, visionary, and Holocaust survivor, Mendek Rubin. Mendek endured three horrendous years in Nazi slave labor concentration camps, while his parents and four siblings were murdered in Auschwitz.
After the war, Mendek immigrated to the United States, a destitute orphan with no skills, and against all odds achieved success and prosperity in the jewelry business with seven patented inventions.
Despite his many accomplishments, Mendek could not break free from his deep emotional suffering, which eventually motivated him to embark on a unique psychological and spiritual journey. Mendek experimented with many techniques in the human potential movement flourishing in New York City in the 1960s and ‘70s, and was a high level member of an alternative “New Age” organization for seven years. Eventually, Mendek forged his own path, inventing numerous methods to effectively heal himself and reconnect with the Divine.
As we accompany Mendek on his unexpected odyssey—from Poland to California, and from darkness to light—we become privy to his insightful revelations, and learn how he was able to transform his thought patterns and unearth his true self. Mendek ultimately discovered that he could live joyfully and peacefully in a beautiful and benevolent universe, where love is all that matters.
Named a top memoir of 2020 by Parade Magazine!
2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards
Gold Medal Winner in the Autobiography/Memoir (Personal Struggle/Health Issues) category
2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards
Gold Medal Winner in the Autobiography/Biography category
2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards
Gold Medal Winner of the Mind/Body/Spirit category
2020 Living Now Book Awards
Gold Medal Winner of the Inspirational Memoir - Male category
Kind Words About the Book
"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
"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
"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
“[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
