World Peace

The time has come – I finally took the leap. Finishing a book was one of those things on my list. Not starting and stopping – but actually seeing it through. Until it’s done. Until it’s sitting there. Until someone who isn’t me can hold it in their hands.

Now it’s here. And honestly, it feels different than I expected.

What It’s About

Ten years. Ten cities. One question that changes everything.

Anna Zaugg is thirty, the Swiss foreign minister, mother of three, and chronically exhausted. Once a year, she meets up with women from around the world – in Dubai, Geneva, Cape Town, Rio, Bali. They talk about the future, argue about the past, and sit in saunas that are far too hot. Along the way, something emerges that’s bigger than politics: friendship, family, and the realisation that peace isn’t a state of being but a decision made anew every morning.

It’s a story about women who don’t give up. About loss that isn’t the end. And about pancakes that taste best when everyone’s sitting at the table.

Why This Book

I always wanted to write something longer. Not a blog post, not an idea sketched out on three pages – but something that needs space. That develops. That you can put down and pick up again. What made it possible, among other things, was another book – more on that in the book itself.

The question of whether world peace is possible sounds big. Maybe too big for a novel, especially for an average guy like me. But I didn’t want to answer it as a political manifesto – I wanted to answer it as a story. What happens when ordinary people – tired, overwhelmed, flawed – still refuse to stop believing in something?

It’s not a non-fiction book. It’s literary fiction. But the question behind it is meant seriously.

Two Bucket List Items at Once

Writing a book – that was the first one. And the fact that it’s now actually sitting on a shelf, as a paperback, as an eBook, soon as an audiobook – that was the second, the publication. Two items on a list I once scribbled on a piece of paper that’s probably long lost by now. But the items are ticked off. And that feels good.

Where to Find It

Weltfrieden is available now – as an eBook for €7.99, as a paperback for €16.99, and as a hardcover for €29.99. The paperback is 288 pages. An audiobook is expected to follow in the coming weeks.

You can find it on Amazon: amazon.de/dp/B0GX2YMP1B

Quick tip: The eBook is not only cheaper but also easier on the environment. But if you want it on your shelf – I get it. I do too.

Thanks for sharing this moment with me.

— Daniel