Reading the draft of the novel by Gernot Gricksch, "La vita non è per i codardi" (Life is not for cowards), it was like love at first sight, or rather, love at first reading. This story dares to grapple with important issues such as "impermanence", "pain" and "death" with great ease and verve, something that happens, unfortunately, only very rarely in Germany. Through humour, "La vita non è per codardi" allows us to deal with intensely uncomfortable but important issues, which we usually try to avoid. A serious illness in my family made me realise that you can lose the people you love from one day to the next. The tone of "La vita non è per i codardi" strives to convey a delicate sense of humour basically based on realism; one that is not ashamed of the darker sides of life.