Dorothe Kress lived happily behind the Iron Curtain (in East Germany) for the first 44 years of her life. How could anyone live “happily” behind the Iron Curtain?Dorothe explains: “In East Germany, I had a good education, a meaningful career, and our basic needs were met. Yes, there were frustrating limits—such as not being allowed to visit relatives in West Germany. Still, life in behind the Iron Curtain was all we knew.”
In Dorothe’s historically fascinating and thought-provoking novel, The Risk: Forbidden Love Behind the Iron Curtain, she describes her lifestyle in East Germany. It was only when she fell in love with an American and wanted to emigrate to the United States that she fully realized the repressive limitations to her freedom.
Note: The Risk has won numerous awards, including the Indie Book Award medal, which she wears in the first image shown here. The second image is her wedding picture—way back then—in East Germany. Adorable in any language!
You can learn more about Dorothe at www.facebook.com/dorothe.kress.1 and https://www.ddkress.com.
Gut gemacht! (Well done!) Dorothe!
Dorothe,
Your book was a big hit at Gold Country Writers “Read and Review”. Hearing your story opened a lot of eyes to what it was really like in East Germany at that time. Hope to see more of your writing in the future.
Thank you for your comment, Kelly. And thank you for mentioning the “Read and Review” meetings through Gold Country Writers. (Interested people–members and nonmembers of Gold Country Writers–meet at Depot Bay Coffee Shop and discuss the book with the author.) I wish I would have featured Dorothe before that Read & Review meeting. To find out more about Gold Country Writers, go to the website at goldcountrywriters.com. It’s an amazing group for writers and readers! Sheila
Dorthy I enjoy hearing your story. Keep going. Thank for being so brave
Hi Mary!
I can just see you saying that–“Thanks for being so brave.” And you, in your soft-spoken, sweet way, are one of the bravest of us all! It’s about time for me to feature you again! Looking forward to seeing you soon!
I love that you shared your story and that your story was highlighted in Bright Ideas by Sheila, otherwise I would never have known. I visited your website and noticed you have two books with the titles referring to Adventure. Life is quite the adventure, isn’t it. And yours seems on the high end of that scale. I think I’ll look for one of your books.
Hi Libby …
Yes, Dorothe’s story is one-of-a-kind. She is such a fascinating woman. I’m anxious to read her next novel depicting the adjustments to life in America from an immigrant family’s point of view–especially when they do not yet speak fluent English!
So interesting! I would love to meet her and read her book. Is she now living in Auburn?
Hi Ruth–Thank you for commenting.
I’ll ask Dorothe to let me know when and where she will be presenting a talk and I’ll note the information on a Bright Ideas email. I don’t feel at liberty to tell exactly where she lives, but I will say she is a local author. You can find her book on Amazon–paperback and kindle. See you soon!