Opa: An Eternal Optimist: The First 20 Years

By Oliver Boehm

This biographical picture book is about the life of Guenter Boehm - an ordinary man born in Nazi Germany. By the time he is 20 years of age, he is no longer in Germany, but on the warm sandy beaches of the Caribbean Ocean. The book starts with personal stories during the early years of World War II. As the war comes to an end, life for Guenter becomes complex. The horror of war is quickly revealed. This is followed by the terror of the war's aftermath as the victor seeks revenge. Guenter becomes a refugee with his family, and later a teenager and a young adult in East Germany. An altercation with the communist government leads to an abrupt escape to the West. He leaves Europe a few days before his 19th birthday and becomes a modern-day indentured servant to the Canadian government. He spends a year crossing the country, from east to west, doing odd jobs to pay off his debt. With eternal optimism, he decides to head for the oil refineries of Venezuela to strike it rich. He rides his motorcycle from Canada, through the United States, Mexico, and Central America. In 1959, unexpected events resulted in a change of plans - a return to Europe. Now, he needs to become a sailor on a steamer to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The steamers leave from Havana, Cuba. Multiple unsuccessful attempts to reach Havana leave him on a small island in the Caribbean Ocean where he encounters a group of Mexican tourists. Instead of finding a ship to take him back to Europe, he finds love. He travels because of the circumstances that force him to look for a better life. He is curious and hopeful. The new places he sees and the new people he meets expose him to new cultures, which help him understand the world. Sometimes, what he finds has a terrible past, and he realizes that, for better or for worse, people all over the world have a lot in common. This biographical story provides a unique perspective of a journey through life. A story similar to the ones now told by those displaced by war, as well as migrants, refugees or asylum seekers pursuing a new life in a foreign land. They are dreamers who will not accept failure or be denied a life of harmony and pride. They are eternal optimists - they have to be.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0DCZVZB3S
• ISBN13: 9798335321570
• Release Date: August 2024
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 114 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.3" x 8.5"