DON'T ASK FOR SUGAR - A TRUE STORY
About world travel, freedom, love, adventure and a new beginning.
The Complete Trilogy
Christoph grows up as the fifth of six brothers in a strict household in Stuttgart. Early on, he feels the urge to break free.
His journey begins unprepared in Sri Lanka.
Asia does not become an adventure, but reality.
In Thailand, he meets Suzanne. A meeting that stays. A love that carries him.
Later, they live together in Australia.
After a prophecy, everything falls apart.
Suzanne is gone.
Christoph loses his footing.
He hitchhikes through Australia, experiences violence, works on a diving boat – until his visa expires.
A phone call changes everything. Ralf is back in India.
Christoph knows what that means and follows him there.
India means:
• Heat
• Hunger
• Illness
• Loss of control
After severe food poisoning, he sits with his brother on an overcrowded train to Nepal. On the final night, he is robbed.
• Passport gone
• Money gone
• Bag gone
Nothing remains.
With his brother’s help, he returns to Germany.
West Berlin. A new beginning. Work at a CNC machine.
One goal: to see Suzanne again.
But the money is not enough.
Christoph knows what Ralf is doing in India.
• Smuggling
• Hashish
• Fast money
Christoph makes a conscious decision.
He travels through East Berlin to Nepal and buys hashish in the Himalayas.
On the return journey, everything ends abruptly.
• Arrest at the airport
• Interrogations
• Pre-trial detention in Keibelstrasse
Then the sentence.
Rummelsburg prison. A GDR labour camp.
Inside means life with:
• Hunger
• Violence
• Humiliation
• Constant control
State Security wants to break him. Christoph refuses.
The consequences:
• Tiger cage
• Isolation
• Damp and cold
• Less food
• Dark stone slabs
• The board for lying down out of reach
After solitary confinement, forced labour again.
This time with asbestos. Dust. Breathing like powder.
Christoph refuses again.
• Tiger cage
• Isolation
• Cold
A system that destroys what does not submit.
But Christoph does not break.
Then, without warning, the unexpected happens.
Amnesty.
He is transferred on the Grotewohl Prisoner Express. Hours between hope and fear.
One year after his arrest – on Friday, 13 November 1987 – he is handed over to West German authorities.
Freedom.
But no longer the same man.
This book is:
• a true autobiographical story
• a world journey through Asia and Australia
• an account of smuggling, arrest and GDR prison
• a survival story of imprisonment, interrogations and isolation
• a story about love, loss and consequences
DON’T ASK FOR SUGAR – A TRUE STORY
The whole adventure.
The whole downfall.
The whole truth.
At the end of the book, original photographs from that time are included.
Included in DON’T ASK FOR SUGAR:
• How It All Begins – Book 1
• Nothing Remains as It Is – Book 2
• Anticyclical Thinking – Book 3
The Complete Trilogy.
For readers who want to experience the entire journey in one volume.
Bernhard Christoph Lichtinger writes books drawn from lived experience, from setbacks, detours, new beginnings and encounters that never needed to be invented. His stories begin where real life leaves its mark.
If you are interested in my novels, you can find the links to the titles here.
ALMOST NORMAL – 16 SHORT STORIES
NOTHING REMAINS AS IT IS – VOLUME 2
GOODREADS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
REVIEW August 25, 2025
This is a fantastic book!! Once i started I could not put it down. A heart breaking, epic tale of true love, endurance and survival. I can’t recommend this one enough, it felt like I was there in the middle of it. At times it made me cry, it is a real wild ride. Amazing!!
verifizierter Kauf, Luke de Pina
GOODREADS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
REVIEW February 7, 2024
Hold onto your hats, folks, because Don’t Ask for Sugar is one heck of a ride! This memoir is like a rollercoaster through the wild and wonderful world of Christoph’s life, packed with love, adventure, and enough twists to make your head spin. From steamy romance in Bangkok to heartbreak in the Australian outback, Christoph’s story will tug at your heartstrings and leave you breathless with anticipation. So, if you’re craving a memoir that’s equal parts thrilling and heartfelt, then grab a copy of Don’t Ask for Sugar and buckle up for the adventure of a lifetime! 🌍💔
- Sue 978 reviews 65 followers
GOODREADS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Peter J.
KOBO ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Abigail L. 968 reviews / 59 followers
KOBO ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
December 5, 2023
- Shay Cunniffe
KOBO ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Caroline M. on January 13, 2024
KOBO ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Lynn
AMAZON ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you want to believe in true love, read this book!
Rezension aus den Vereinigten Staaten vom 18. Januar 2024
Verifizierter Kauf
You’ll go through every emotion in this book, which is both funny and touching.
A magnificent journey that makes us believe in true love and travel around the world !
- Cogne Sandrine
AMAZON ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- WayneForza
GOODREADS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- READERS
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