Pages of Life

The author has kept a diary of her daily activities for a year, often interspersed with memories and retrospection. This is the backdrop to a fascinating insight into her life, structured by her annual travels from the Allgaeu in Germany via Iceland and Kentucky to her winter residence in the Bahamas and then onwards to the North German Coast in the spring. The book is also a family portrait starting with the consequences of the First World War and leading to the present day.

The diary offers descriptions of the painter's artistic process as well as impressions of nature and landscape from Kentucky, the Bahamas, Iceland and the other places the author inhabits throughout the year. It tells about important friendships and family relationships that are kept alive despite long distances. The author shares her thoughts on the politics of the day as well as historical background of the different countries visited. This includes, for example, the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland, which her daughter witnessed from her kitchen window. Presented in an enjoyable way, all these experiences, contemporary and past alike, result in a rich image of family history and, last but not least, provide a segment of German history.