THE BORROWED LIFE - WHO WE ARE WHEN THE MASKS FALL
The story of a man searching for the person behind his roles
This is the eighth volume in the book series "Our Time".
A man stands in front of a shop window.
Behind the glass stand the roles of his life.
But who remains when the roles disappear?
That is exactly the question this book explores.
A true story about identity, new beginnings, and the question of who we really are.
Over the course of his life, Bernhard Christoph Lichtinger has been many things: labourer, photo lab technician, mechanic, lifeguard, taxi driver, parcel delivery driver, prisoner in East Germany, property developer, husband, father, emigrant, caravan importer, and finally, author.
Each of these roles shaped his life. Some brought success, while others led to loss, crises, and painful new beginnings.
In this deeply personal volume of the Our Time series, Lichtinger recounts his childhood in Germany, his years at boarding school, his imprisonment in East Berlin, his success as a property developer, the loss of important parts of his life, his emigration to New Zealand, and the experiences of a man who repeatedly had to start over.
The Borrowed Life is an autobiographical journey through freedom, self-discovery, change, identity, and the search for one’s own path.
A book for readers interested in true stories, personal growth, emigration, life crises, and life’s big questions.
Each volume in the Our Time series is self-contained and can be read independently.
THE OUR TIME SERIES
Volume 1 – OUR FEAR
For people who sense that their lifetime is more than just days passing by.
Volume 2 – THE DOG CATCHERS OF BLENHEIM
For people who want to learn how to live with uncertainty without being controlled by it.
Volume 3 – LIFE WITHOUT FEAR
Fear does not disappear – only what it triggers within you.
Volume 4 – THE WORLD IN THE MIND
Why different people see the same world through different eyes.
Volume 5 – THE ESCAPE
For people who sense that no place in the world can save them from themselves – and that something new begins exactly there.
Volume 6 – THE ART OF LETTING GO
For people who realise that letting go does not mean losing something – but creating space for whatever wishes to come next.
Volume 7 – IN THE TIGER CAGE
For everyone who wants to discover what remains of a person when almost everything is taken away.
Volume 8 – THE BORROWED LIFE
For everyone who has ever wondered whether they are living their own life.
Bernhard Christoph Lichtinger writes not from theory, but from lived experience.
His books tell stories of setbacks, detours, losses, new beginnings, and the decisions that can change a life. As a mechanic, lifeguard, taxi driver, property developer, emigrant, prisoner in East Germany, and author, he has experienced many very different worlds.
Today he lives in New Zealand, where he transforms his experiences into books that combine personal stories with life’s larger questions.
His writing emerges wherever real life leaves its marks.
If you have not yet read a volume from the book series “OUR TIME”, you can begin with one of the following books. Each volume stands on its own and explores a different aspect of our lives.
Volume 2: THE DOG CATCHERS OF BLENHEIM
Volume 4: THE WORLD IN THE MIND
Volume 6: THE ART OF LETTING GO
Volume 9: not yet published