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‘Happy’ Norman, Volume I (1927-1957) cover

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    • 978-1-4602-8570-1
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  • Keywords
    • Coming of Age,
    • WWII,
    • Memoir,
    • UK,
    • Post-War Era,
    • British Army,
    • 1930s

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‘Happy’ Norman, Volume I (1927-1957)
Give Me The Child… and I Will Give You The Man
by Keith J. Norman


The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man in Letters to my Grandchildren and Other Friends “Give me the child… and I will give you the man” is the first of five volumes that constitute the autobiography of Keith Norman. Having approached an age when one is naturally drawn to reflection, Keith decided to share his experiences through letters to his grandchildren, offering friendly advice, - not designed to instruct, but rather to protect and illuminate. After the first letters were enthusiastically received, and succumbing to pressure from friends and family, Keith embarked on a task of writing about his life to a wider audience. The first book begins with the question whether our lives are more determined by our childhood experiences and environment or by our DNA. St. Francis Xavier Cabrini seemed to assert that anyone’s potential can be formed in the first 7 years of a child’s life, but is it so? As the details of his life are placed on paper in an orderly fashion, Keith is attempting to discover how and why his life unfolded the way it did: from a young boy who spent his early years as an WW2 evacuee with little direct adult guidance and away from his parents. Only after his release from the Army in 1948 was he reunited with his family, and within a year he had set out a completely independent path of his own. This period would account for his immense sense of independence and self sufficiency. But what made him seek and attain some of the best university degrees the Western World had to offer? And how this mixture of experience and education guided, sometimes mislead him, in his personal and entrepreneurial challenges in life. This first volume presents an entertaining and intelligent self-examination of the formative years of a life that stretches over eight decades, five continents, dozens of cultures and industries with wit, integrity and humility. When you turn the last page of this volume you will see that there is nothing ordinary about Keith Norman, - as he opens the door into his life and invites you on to a journey which cannot fail to move and entertain.”

www.happynorman.com


Born to professional middle-class parents in the UK and forced to take on the mantle of adulthood at an early age during the turbulent years of World War II, Keith Norman developed an independent spirit and an inner drive that has served him well throughout his business career. His bold optimism and unrelenting energy has taken him around the world in a variety of occupations and in the company of colorful characters, many of whom became friends, or partners. Despite many ups and downs, and several fortunes gained and lost along the way, Keith’s confidence in his abilities never wavered, and he has always been ready to tackle the next opportunity. Naturally prone to self-reflection, Keith began to analyze the inner reasons for the course his life had taken, both in business and in his personal decisions, and proceeded to take corrective action, reconciling with those he had inadvertently hurt along the way. In response to several requests from family members, friends, and acquaintances, Keith’s current challenge is to write a “no holds barred” account of his extraordinary life, which is far from over . . . .


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