"Hartmut lived with us. Yesterday he set himself on fire."

When it comes to soccer, ten-year-old Hanno Kelsterberg knows everything there is to know. This is also true when it comes to staging demonstrations. For the past two years, the ascetic protester Hartmut Gründler has been ...

Sixteen-year-old Annamaria will never forget that "Dirty Thursday": A harmless Carnival tradition spells doom for the young girl. And yet no one is willing to believe what happened to Annamaria, who has been living with a negligent and unloving foster mother since her parents' untimely deaths.

It is 1959, and friends Ruth and Christa are enjoying their last summer holidays before the school leaving exams. During a lunchtime swim they meet Erich, a young man who is a member of a group of evangelical Christians. Little do they know Christa will soon secretly be accompanying Erich to ...

Adventure instead of midlife crisis!

"I didn't need a sabbatical; I needed a new challenge."

What do you do when you find yourself on the verge of a midlife crisis? Retreat into monastic silence? Adopt a strict regimen of fasting and long hikes? Early retirement? Booooooring!

An internal treasure there for the taking

Ikigai: this resonant Japanese term stands for the joy that comes with finding meaning in life and consequently concentrating on the things that are truly worthwhile. Research shows that those with high ikigai levels not only lead a more ...

Suddenly, elves!

Before now, eleven-year-old Lia didn't know that elves actually existed. But now, as the result of a failed magical spell, she is stuck in the body of the air princess Asalia and is forced to search for the location of Spring Water, the famous elf boarding school.

When Santa Claus turns everything upside down

It all begins on the first day of Christmas, December 25th. The Wetekamps' doorbell chimes, and Santa Claus is standing outside. He is supposed to stay here for one year, he explains. The gentlemen in the heavenly Christmas ...