The professional career path chosen by many people is as plain as daylight and can be predicted many years into the future. But Sonia Golani's book, My Life, My Rules: Stories of 18 Unconventional Careers, catches the imagination of the reader and provides valuable insights into the inconceivable ways a person's career can proceed. It is a collection of eighteen different stories, each featuring an individual who has dared to walk the less-traversed path. Amish, a successful corporate employee, ventures into the risky world of fiction writing. Eventually, his Shiva series becomes so successful that he quits his job and becomes a full-time author. Having graduate degrees from prestigious institutions and a doctorate in environmental toxicology, Rahul Ram chose to become a musician instead and played for the famous 'Indian Ocean' rock band. Such stories in this book challenge the common set of decisions that most people make for their futures. These stories show just how unpredictable life can be.

    

    The author assures us it is not!Three years before they came together, four young American men left their fraternities and college campuses for an adventure exceeding their imaginations. Wanting something more than the draft and unknown to each other, they chose Naval Aviation as the next step in their lives. Generally, they were better than their navy peers, all qualifying for high performance aircraft to be flown from steel decks over foreign seas. They would become the pointy end of the stick in aerial battles over North Vietnam, the most heavily defended patch of real estate in the history of aerial warfare. They were to do this in 1967, the year in which Naval Aviation experienced its greatest losses.These four young men, now Lieutenants Junior Grade, United States Navy, were ordered to Attack Squadron 34 to fly A4 Skyhawks into combat. They were assigned Junior Officer's stateroom 0111 aboard USS Intrepid, a venerable aircraft carrier with a distinguished history. This "bunkroom" better known to them as Triple Sticks was the repository for a log (in navy terms) or journal written by these four young aviators. Forty years later this log was the genesis of this memoir.In the lethal environment over the northern reaches of North Vietnam or ashore in the Officer's clubs and bars of Asia, the writing brings to life wonderful humor, bizarre behavior, vivid aerial battles, uncommon loyalty, anger, frustration and respect. One survived or did not according to his skill and luck.

    Novel set in 3rd and 4th century India