GLAD YOU WERE THERE

  • A wise and deeply moving story of a grandmother and granddaughter caring for one another.
  • This intelligent narrative beautifully explores the enduring power of family devotion.
  • Her novel Bis wieder einer weint was nominated for the German Book Prize 2020.

Why are we young for such a fleeting moment, yet old for what feels like eternity?

This novel unfolds from the perspective of a child raised by her grandmother, while simultaneously speaking with the voice of a middle-aged woman caring for a centenarian. The old woman bore her daughters during the Nazi regime; now, her granddaughter is herself the mother of an adult daughter.

Throughout the narrative, viewpoints on family life and caregiving shift, complement, and contradict one another. Roles are reversed: at times, the grandmother stands before us as an imposing figure of authority. At others, as an elderly lady young at heart. And finally, as a woman of biblical age. In doing so, this book of memories spanning decades and generations becomes a profound self-examination: This is how it was. But was it truly that way?

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  • Publisher: Rowohlt Hundert Augen
  • Release: 04.09.2026
  • ISBN: 978-3-498-00757-7
  • 272 Pages
  • Author: Eva Sichelschmidt

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Buchcover von GLAD YOU WERE THERE: Roman
Eva SichelschmidtGLAD YOU WERE THERE
Portrait von Eva Sichelschmidt
© Max Zerrahn
Eva Sichelschmidt

Eva Sichelschmidt  was born in the green belt surrounding the Ruhr area. She moved to Berlin in 1989 to work as a costume designer for film and opera before opening a made-to-measure studio and a shop called Whisky and Cigars that gained fame across the city. Her first novel,  Die Ruhe weg , was published in 2017, with  Bis wieder einer weint following in 2020. In 2022 she was invited to the Bachmann competition. Eva Sichelschmidt lives in Rome and Berlin.