The Man Behind the Mask on Amazon.com

The Man Behind the Mask has recently been released. The publisher is Publish America Publishing Company in Baltimore.

The Man Behind the Mask is about an ear, nose, and throat doctor who becomes a successful practicing surgical specialist. The novel spans three decades of the protagonist and presents several dramatic conflicts that he must resolve. Initially, the young character learns that we are not judged by life's inherent crises, but rather we are judged by how we react to them and the choices that we make in response to them. That, is the recurring theme of the book.

As an adult, he faces a dilemma regarding his unborn child, who suffers from Potter's Syndrome, which is a rare but universally fatal disease of the lungs. He is able to work through that loss by referring to the values that his grandfather taught him when he was young. However, his wife is not so lucky, for she has a mysterious past, carefully kept from him for many years. Her dysfunction eerily resurfaces and causes her to act out in ways that undermine their relationship.

Throughout the book, the other major character, a woman that the doctor met as a teenager and whose life is presented in parallel, deals with her own set of issues, including determining why men repeatedly attempt to control her destiny. She faces several circumstances where a man has authority over her and tries to manipulate her for his own gain, which leads the reader to believe that she will never, and should never, trust a man again. Ultimately, however, she discovers that she is in love, and always has been, with the doctor, and that leads to the final conflict: whom will he choose, his wife or her.

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The Recovery on Amazon.com

Although Jere is completely alone, he still refuses to pursue treatment of his chemically dependency, denying that he has a problem with drugs or alcohol, as if all physicians are impervious to such a dreadful destiny. He is steadfast in that belief until he makes a serious error in judgement while performing surgery on one of Madison's elite. He is now presented with a choice: either seek help or see his career end. He decides to enter a program of recovery.

Against his knowledge, Jere's clinic foolishly decides to cover up the debacle in surgery until an aggressive, young investigative reporter breaks through the thick veil of secrecy and exposes the entire affair. That disclosure attracts the attention of the Dane County Attorney's office. They perform a criminal investigation and indict Jere for a serious crime and that challenges his sobriety far beyond anything that he ever could have imagined. He battles back from unimaginable odds and ultimately comes face to face with the most difficult challenge of his life. By working a program of recovery, Jere yearns for serenity and peace, finally understanding that life's true treasures cannot be measured in purely material ways.

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Currently, Rex Haberman is working on his third full-length novel, Beyond the Reef. He anticpates completing that project by 2003. It is a story about a father from Vietnam who escapes from a brutal governmental regime and brings his family to the United States only to find hate and discrimination. Nevertheless, he steadfastly and diligently works hard to make sure that his children are offered a chance for success and a piece of the American dream.

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OTHER PROJECTS

Middle Ear and Mastoid Surgery

Rex’s textbook ‘Middle Ear and Mastoid Surgery’ was released in January of 2004 and can be purchased directly from the publisher at this site: http://www.thieme.com/SID2259807078988/productsubpages/
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