HOW IT ALL BEGINS - A TRUE STORY ABOUT FAMILY, FREEDOM AND A NEW LIFE
Book 1: From work, failure and the quiet courage to follow your own path
“How It All Begins” marks the beginning of the series “Don’t Ask for Sugar” and tells the start of an extraordinary life journey – an autobiographical story about origins, departure, freedom, self-discovery and a love that changes everything.
Chris grows up as the fifth of six brothers in a turbulent household in Stuttgart. His father is a paediatrician, his mother a nurse. Home is loud, lively and full of energy. His childhood is shaped by frequent school changes and five years in a strict Catholic boarding school – discipline, rules and a hard school of life.
As a young man, he works in various professions – first as a photo lab technician, later as a toolmaker. But early on, he senses that his life holds more than a fixed job. He seeks freedom, adventure and his own path in life.
The dream of departure and a new life eventually leads him out into the world.
With no real plan, Chris ends up in Sri Lanka – while his older brother Ralf is somewhere in India. What follows is a journey full of adventure, heat, dust, chaos and intense encounters. Sri Lanka challenges him, Thailand confronts him with temptation.
And then something happens that changes everything.
In a breakfast room in Bangkok, he meets Suzanne – independent, curious about the world and full of joie de vivre. A true New Zealander, close to nature, humorous and courageous.
Within just a few days, a connection develops between them that cannot be planned or controlled. Their week together on Koh Samet becomes an intense experience of closeness, conversations and trust – a true love story.
But life leads them apart again, at least for a while.
Months later, Chris travels to Australia. There, they find each other again and experience a time full of hope and happiness – until one encounter overshadows everything.
A fortune teller predicts a bright future for Suzanne. But when it is Chris’s turn, the atmosphere suddenly changes. The fortune teller’s arm begins to tremble. Her voice turns serious.
She speaks of trials.
Of dark forces.
Of encounters that will shake his life deeply.
A moment that burns itself into his memory – and later takes on a completely new meaning.
This book is the beginning of an extraordinary true story about world travel, love, adventure and personal change.
What you will find in this book
- a true life story from the 1980s
- a moving love story between Europe, Asia and Australia
- a journey full of adventure, encounters and unexpected turns
- the search for freedom, self-discovery and a new life
- an autobiographical account of departure, courage and personal decisions
This book is for readers who love stories about
- true love
- world travel and adventure
- self-discovery and personal change
- unconventional life paths
- courageous new beginnings
At the end of the book, you will find a selection of original photos from that time.
This story is part of a larger journey.
DON’T ASK FOR SUGAR
Complete edition, Books 1-3
A spiritual, humorous adventure novel about love, deception and liberation – based on a true story.
HOW IT ALL BEGINS
Book 1
NOTHING REMAINS AS IT IS
Book 2
ANTI-CYCLICAL THINKING
Book 3
These three books together form the complete story of “Don’t Ask for Sugar”.
They tell the journey of a man
who loses everything – and in doing so finds
what truly matters:
freedom, truth and a new life.