Das Sterntalerexperiment - Mein Leben Ohne Geld
(Heidemarie Schwermer)
Book Title: The Sterntaler Experiment-My Life Without Money
You know how it feels: an especially colorful and happy TV advert
arouses an uncertain desire in you. Later, as you cruise the ailes of
your favorite store, your eyes accidentally spot that product and you
just must buy it, even if it is way out of your budget.
You might even be addicted to such luxury purchases, marketing wizards call that ?impulse buying?.
What happens when a person disconnects herself from such a dependance
by giving up money and gainful work is told by Heidemarie Schwermer in
this her autobiographical book, named after the German fairy tale
?Sterntaler?, where a lucky girl is rained on with golden Taler coins
(Dollars).
Born 1942 in WW2 Germany at Memel, East Prussia, her family fled with
her to the Western Zone when the Soviet Red Army approached in 1945.
When she was still a little girl her harsh childhood made her vow to
devote her life to peace and human dignity. She later became a teacher,
worked with poor kids in South America, and also got degrees in
psychology and sociology, practiced ?Gestalt? therapy, ran a barter
& trade store. But none of these activities could really give her
satisfaction.
She wanted to affect revolutionary changes in society, wanted to give a
signal to the world. Finally, in 1996, she gave up her job, got rid of
all her possessions and became an unpaid house sitter for people on
those long German vacations, in return for room and board only. She
actually lived cash-less, without having to beg, bartering her
professional expertise and services for the surplus of the consumer
society.
It?s an experiment that is still ongoing. Her Book was a bestseller in
Germany and she is a minor celebrity who often appears on TV shows. The
substantial income from her book and her media appearances she gives
away in five-euro coins, one by one, the ?Sterntaler? (Dollars from
Heaven)of the title.
(The translator, Jerry Hoss, is native speaker of both German and
English and available for any lucrative writing/translating/ editing
assignments).
Resumos Relacionados
- Veronika Decides To Die
- The Meaning Of Money In Our Lives
- Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
- Scarlet Letter
- The Intelligent Judgement
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