Dirk Hellmann, born in 1961, grew up under unbearable conditions with five siblings in a working-class family, from which he initially sought to escape through training as a nurse. At the same time, he was swept up in the last waves of the hippie movement and ended up in Goa, India. Like many other dropouts, he hoped to find his happiness there. In this book, he describes his search for an alternative lifestyle, showcases the allure of Eastern religions and cultures, and his experimentation with drugs. It is inevitable that this adventure is peppered with a series of dramatic events and encounters. A highlight of his journey is his fall into a well, where the water literally comes up to his neck.

After nearly three years of traveling through Europe, India, Pakistan, and Nepal, he returned to Germany. For the past 25 years, he and his wife Meike have been running a community on an old farm in Bavaria. They have dedicated themselves to helping men struggling with addiction find their way back to life. Dirk and Meike have three children together and also have grandchildren.