Meet the Authors | Donald & Cheryl Lynne Rubbo

Authors Donald and Cheryl Lynne Rubbo

Donald Rubbo is an artist, cook, storyteller, and creative visionary whose work weaves together memory, myth, and modern technology. With his wife and co-creator Cheryl Lynne Rubbo, he brings My Father’s Miraculous Rock Soup to life as both a tribute to family and an offering to the world. Donald fuses raw creativity with an unwavering spirituality, anchored by his unshakable Christian faith and a heart brimming with compassion, generosity and wisdom.

Born in New York City, and raised first in the Bronx, and then in the vibrant chaos of a SoHo artist loft by his father, Pop Art legend Don Rubbo Sr. His parents separated when Donald was 11, and his father was given custody of the children. When Donald was 13, he became the head of the household after his father suffered a massive heart attack. At 16, Donald was given legal guardianship of his brothers.

Co-founder of Rubbo Salt Shop, Donald is a trailblazer in the wellness world, igniting transformation through martial and healing arts. He began his teaching career in 1980, and empowered thousands worldwide with his profound teachings in the Chinese martial and healing arts, unlocking the secrets of mind-body harmony and self-discovery.

Donald was more than a martial arts teacher — he was a living compass, guiding many young men not only in the discipline of martial arts, but in the art of character and righteousness building. With the quiet strength of a father and the wisdom of a seasoned warrior, he gave unwaveringly of himself, rooted in integrity, resilience, and grace. In his classes and beyond, he taught that true power lies in self-mastery and compassion. For many, he filled a void—modeling what it means to stand firm, listen deeply, and lead with strength, confidence, purpose and heart.

The Rubbos created the nation’s first Wellness class in a hospital, Marin General, in 1996, which ran for 14 years. They also ran Five Tigers Martial Arts Summer Day Camp in the parks in Marin, for 4 years, for youths ages 8 to 14, mixing Shao Lin Chuan exercises, hiking in the forests and handmade crafts. They traveled the world teaching, and helped their Swiss students establish thriving schools in Switzerland. The Rubbos created ‘The World Takes a Breath Day,’ featuring their ‘The Extraordinary Breath’, to bring awareness of the profound, lasting healing benefits of deep diaphragmatic breathing.

In the summer and fall of 2001, Donald was traveling back and forth to New York City to take care of his mother, Maria, who had been diagnosed with uterine cancer. He was booked on the fateful Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, to fly home to the Bay Area, but since his mother was doing well, and by the grace of God, his wife changed his return to Flight 93 a few days earier, on the 8th of September. Rising above the shock of the horrific attack, on September 12, 2001, Donald led his community, in a local park, in a powerful healing prayer for the nation. Unable to travel back to New York for a long time, Donald was grateful that his mother’s cancer treatment was successful, and today, she is a thriving, feisty 93 year old.

In March of 2013, on a cross-country driving trip from New York City to San Francisco, Donald and Cheryl Lynne stopped in Somerset, Pennsylvania for the night. They did not know this was where Flight 93 crashed, until the hotel manager told them. They went to the crash site the next morning and met Max, a retired pilot for Continental Airlines. Max’s plane had been in the queue at Newark Airport the morning of September 11, 2001, waiting to take off, right behind United Flight 93. This was his first visit to the Flight 93 Memorial site, and he told Donald, “It could easily have been my flight they had chosen.”

Later in 2013, when a mysterious, undiagnosable illness struck, defying every healing modality he'd mastered and baffling his doctors, Rubbo turned to God. Through divine grace, he embarked on a breathtaking journey of recovery though God's grace, as chronicled in his riveting 2018 testimonial book, ‘Exposing Deeds of Darkness’.

Alongside his wife, Cheryl Lynne, Rubbo co-authored captivating works like ‘Extraordinary Breath’, ‘The Art and Mastery of Bio-Energetic Healing’, ‘Primordial Qigong’, and the delightfully quirky ‘"Old-fashioned!" Naughty! Everything! - A Glimpse of Emily Dickinson’.

Honored as a hero by the 2006 Volvo for Life Awards and decorated with two Presidential Commendations for his public service, Rubbo's compassionate volunteerism and love for humanity spark vibrant, connected communities that pulse with hope and vitality.

Cheryl Lynne Rubbo is a radiant force of healing, creativity, and transformation, whose life pulses with purpose and passion. A celebrated author, wellness visionary, and trailblazing martial artist, she has devoted her life to uplifting others through her words, teachings, and boundless compassion. Alongside her husband, Donald Rubbo, she co-authored powerful works like ‘Extraordinary Breath’, ‘The Art and Mastery of Bio-Energetic Healing’, the whimsical “Old-fashioned!” Naughty! Everything! - A Glimpse of Emily Dickinson’, and the profoundly moving ‘Exposing Deeds of Darkness’, each a testament to her mission of inspiring hope and resilience.

Raised in the vibrant chaos of a post-Beatnik artist’s home in Lagunitas, California, Cheryl Lynne’s childhood was steeped in creativity, music and heartbreak. Her artist/musician father, J.P. Pickens, was a luminary of San Francisco’s early 1960s North Beach music scene, and helped shape the psychedelic rock movement with his hand-crafted banjo and performances alongside icons like David Meltzer, James Gurley, and Peter Albin at the legendary Coffee Gallery in San Francisco. This bohemian upbringing sparked Cheryl Lynne’s lifelong embracing of self-expression and transformation.

Finally settling down in San Francisco, at 16, Cheryl Lynne broke barriers as one of the first women in the U.S. to study Chinese martial arts, training under the legendary Kuo Lien Ying at San Francisco’s Portsmouth Square. With fierce grace, she mastered empty-hand techniques and weapons forms, wielding the Chinese broadsword with particular grace and skill. It was there, in 1976, that she met Donald Rubbo, her future husband and partner in life and work. Their friendship blossomed into love, culminating in their 1992 marriage—a union grounded in shared purpose and spiritual devotion.

Driven by her deep Christian faith, Cheryl Lynne radiates gentle humor, creativity, and an unshakable commitment to service. Her volunteer work and dedication to fostering healthier communities have touched countless lives, earning her admiration as a beacon of generosity and connection. Guided by Ralph Waldo Emerson’s timeless wisdom—“To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded”—Cheryl Lynne’s legacy is one of love, healing, and transformative impact, inspiring others to live with purpose and heart.