Beruf und Berufung

"The journalist and editor Mathias Morgenthaler aims at the life story of his interview partners. However, not in the sense of a home story, but more in the sense of a job story. Whereby job is not quite the right word: There should be a term that encompasses job, work and vocation all at once.

The fact that such a word does not exist is symptomatic, and that is why these interviews are so revealing: they report on the constant struggle to earn money (job), sacrifice (work) and fulfillment (vocation). Mathias Morgenthaler does not simply portray people who have made it. The people portrayed come from all social classes; among them there are up-and-comers and down-and-comers, career changers and dropouts. Their biographies reveal cracks and contradictions. In their entirety, these interviews provide a fascinating glimpse into a multi-layered working world. Nothing is glossed over: Work is a struggle for existence, no success is guaranteed, failure is possible at any time. And yet an unobtrusive optimism runs through these conversations. Unexpectedly, the path leads out of a dead end, a stroke of fate opens up new perspectives, people find their creativity in a crisis."
Balts Nill.