For the reader of the book at hand there awaits a poignnat literary reconstruction of the personal and social situation of people before, during and after the Second World War. As the reference point and central character stands Elisabeth, the mother of the author. The work is based on a multifaceted experience of the realities of life and a rich knowledge of documentary material from Elisabeth’s home city Frankfurt am Main. The horrors of war strike the young family, which enjoys just a few happy years. The father “goes missing” in both meanings of that term – a fate which is by no means an individual case. Privation, distress, sorrow, destruction and death are present. And there is a mother, committed and strong although often unwell, who had developed herself professionally with outstanding achievements and in spite of all adversities cares for her two small daughters with optimism, dilligence and a sense of responsibility, but also imparts the meaning of the good, the true and the beautiful and tries to open for them educational opportunities. But also the bright side of life is never overlooked, for Elisabeth is a “Carnival child”, loves fun and playing tricks, dancing, music, poetry, socialising and nature, and in spite of everything she always understands one thing very well: how to enjoy also her hours of good fortune, to find her way through the clouds to the stars. With this work, convincing and beautiful in its content and style, a very animated and authentic eyewitness account of the years 1910 to 1980, Elisabeth is provided with a well-earned acknowledgement.weiterlesen