A Place in Life

A PLACE IN LIFE is a fictional memoir about the life of a boy told through a series of catastrophic events and failed relationships. The author has written a fine “time” piece in which he captures the turmoil of the 50’s and 60’s, navigating those incredibly complex decades, their feelings and emotions, with tenderness and insight.

A PLACE IN LIFE is a fictional memoir about the life of a boy (Joe) told through a series of catastrophic events and failed relationships. The author has written a fine “time” piece in which he captures the turmoil of the 50’s and 60’s, navigating those incredibly complex decades, their feelings and emotions, with tenderness and insight. We are led through Joe’s childhood, adolescence, formative years, through Vietnam and beyond. Unsettling yet honest, the story examines a plain spoken love story and the complex relationships between a father and his sons. As we accompany Joe through life’s lessons, we see him experience hardships, both commonplace and unusual—and while the common issues connect us, the unusual situations make this story a unique and compelling read. Readers will care for Joe—respect his courage in the face of adversity, be disappointed in his judgment and celebrate his successes. He grows into a complex man, but we come to understand him completely and emphatically. A Place in Life is an unflinching commentary on the best and the worst that we are capable of, and the tenderness that keep two people together in the face of all odds.

Robert Hartstein was born in the Bronx, New York in 1946. His grandparents were among the first wave of Eastern European immigrants who migrated to this country after World War I. Orphaned at the age of six, Robert spent his early years in New York and California. The challenges he faced during those formative years precipitated Robert’s struggle to find his place in life and led to his decision to write this book. While parts of this story are based on Robert’s life, other events are reconstructed memories of people and places that made up the world in which he battled to survive. Similarities among the incidents in this book and actual incidents occurring throughout his life are coincidental and should not be construed as an accurate portrayal of specific people or events. Robert is a retired labor relations manager with over forty years of service in the public sector. He has worked at all levels of local government—city, county, and state. He studied business administration and behavioral science in the California State University System and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Manpower Management. His education was interrupted by a tour of duty in the United States Marine Corps, where he served honorably. Following his service in the Marine Corps, Robert married the former Cynthia Brown, his wife of forty-three years. They have two grown sons and three grandchildren, all living in California. Robert and Cynthia live in Northern California, where they pursue an active outdoor life and, of course, where Robert continues to write.