To Your Own Self Be True

by Ray Melnik

It is the year 2021 and Kaela is twenty-three years old when her father shares his secret about an extraordinary event that changed his very existence fifteen years earlier. She was taught many lessons in moral principles growing up, but it's rare that the most profound of them would be put to the test. A convergence of events gives her father the opportunity to teach her one of the greatest lessons of all.

220 pages, Hardcover

First published March 21, 2009

About the author

Just before college, Ray won first place in the National Pen Women Competition for his fictional short story, Distinction, as well as winning second place in the New York Best of City - The Written Word. While attending college, Ray Melnik's course on existential literature opened a whole new world for him with the study of writers such as Sartre and Camus.

He pursued a musical career as a singer and lyricist, after leaving college. In the early 1980s he was the lead singer for One Hand Clap and then Fine Malibus, with Steve Stevens, current guitarist and song writer for Billy Idol. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Ray was engineer and co-owner of MANNIK Productions, a recording studio in the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, New York. In addition to lyrics, Ray, wrote a monthly column about pro audio for a music trade magazine, American Liverpool.

Later moving into the field of technology as a network engineer and then architect, he wrote for the technology panel of a regional newspaper, Times Herald Record, and was the primary writer of articles based on home technology for the website New Technology Home. Ray currently works as a Senior Network Architect in New York City, New York.

An insatiable interest in science and unbending commitment to reason makes his first novel, The Room, a story of a life grounded in both. His second novel, To Your Own Self Be True, follows with the same intention. Burnished Bridge is a short novella set in the same town as the novel series and is a love story with a twist. Eyes In This World, a series ending novel was published in September 2013.

Ghost In the Park - a science fiction love story novella was published April 2016. Now experience Ghost In The Park as an audiobook. June 2023

Not Afraid: Short Stories and Essays was published July 2023

Reviews

[Ray Melnik]

The story of TO YOUR OWN SELF BE TRUE centers on the life of Kaela Ladd, whose father taught her to think first with reason, as he taught her younger sister, Lainey. He told his daughters to question everything, explaining that nothinf can be learned, if they close their eyes. Lainey had no troubles accepting what others believe, but Kaela became almost obsessed about the absurdities advanced by others.

As she grew up, Kaela’s talent in mathamatics led her to the study of physics. Forever in her books, she fosters just a few friendships at school, but even then never felt that she really fit in. There were a handful of disasterous dates. Two factors always got in the way. The first was that she prefferred to be alone rather than suffer through small talk. The second was being self conscious about the quirks she realized she had.

Then Kaela’s father shares a secret with her about an extraordinary event that changed his very existence some fifteen years earlier. The most reasonable man she had ever known told her the most extraordinary thing she’d ever heard. At the very least, she was certain her father believed it was true.

It is the year 2021, Kaela is twenty-three years old, and after her internship in physics she’s offered a position at SciLab, a preeminent science facility not far from where she grew up. The job was too desirable to turn down, and she could continue her doctorate in evening sessions. She’s successful, but like the rest of us, she struggles to discover what really makes us happy.

She was taught many lessons in moral principles growing up, but it is rare that the most profound of them would be put to the test. A convergence of events gives her father the opportunity to teach her one of the greatest lessons of all.

To Your Own Self Be True is an existential story of a woman who looks at life from a different perspective than most. She challenges us to think of a world where people of reason are given a chance to influence the course of history as much as those of faith.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

To Your Own Self Be True introduces Kaela Ladd, the other daughter of scientist Harry Ladd from author Ray Melnik's first novel, The Room. This story takes place in the year 2021.

Kaela is all grown up now and her father is gone. She will never forget the lessons he taught her, even if it took her a while to believe. Kaela is very excited. After finishing her internship, Kaela was offered a position at SciLab. There Kaela is tasked with teaching a Universal Personal Assistant how to function.

Research is not cheap work. Kaela's boss asks her to do a presentation to the board of a company in order to try and get more money. Besides working with a Universal Personal Assistant, Kaela also is very invested in trying to learn just what really happened to her father.

Mr. Melnik integrates physics with M-Theory. M-Theory is the concept that there is an eleventh dimension of space time. This so called eleventh dimension is believed to unify all these dimensions and be more powerful. While I love science, this book went over my head. Let me say this is not because it wasn't good but because the concept seemed a little far out there for me. As well as the fact that I believe that the story had some loop holes that probably would have been filled in better for me had I read The Room first, prior to reading To Your Own Self Be True. Again I want to say this was not a bad book, only that I felt to better experience what Mr. Melnik was trying to portray with his characters and time rifts that you should read the first book, The Room.