Magda Liebscher, the fictional main character in “At a distance and yet so near”, the second book by Echoing Rudolf Hauke, has little spectacular to offer at first glance.
But only at first glance.
Eching - On almost 200 pages, the reader accompanies the woman in her late thirties, mother of two teenage children, married to Paul and certainly also with her job as a care expert, in her everyday life in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Corona and a personal stroke of fate are not left out either.
"A must for everyone who wants to get to know the situation in our health system and care sector better," says an online review of Hauke's novel, which, like his autobiographical debut, "The Stranger's Drop in My Blood", again takes a personal look at thematically the health care throws.
Professional experience as a driving force
A decisive driving force for the author, born in 1954 and born in Augsburg, to deal with this complex field in literary terms is the fact that, as a member of the board of the commercial health insurance companies, he accompanied the introduction of long-term care insurance for many years.
Hauke can judge the German health system as an insider.
In the course of his life, heavily influenced by cancer, it has become a matter close to his heart to focus on the forces in the healthcare sector.
Even after retiring into private life, he was personally concerned about health and illness.
Hauke knows what he is writing about.
In his sympathetic main character, the author personifies the double claim of necessary distance on the one hand and personal concern on the other.
The book title “At a distance and yet so close” sums it up.
In order to come to terms with this conflict, the conversation that Magda Liebscher is looking for is so important - with her family, especially with her husband.
She is also looking for closeness.
This can be found above all in the regular exchange of experiences with their colleagues.
Magda Liebscher makes her job a joy.
Your responsible job is essentially to determine the degree of care need of the applicant during a home visit on behalf of the Medical Service of the Health Insurance (MDK).
It fulfills this task, but at the same time means a psychological burden.
The main focus of Hauke's book is on the individual episodes of these daily care assessments - with all their touching, but also ugly facets.
Authentic and up-to-date, the individual highlights condense into a realistic, very immediate impression between amusement and concern.
Here Hauke draws a captivating picture of a reality that can affect everyone - either as a person in need of care or as a relative.
Beer sisters responsible for the cover
Particularly interesting for all Echinger: One or the other allusion to his adopted home Eching, where Hauke, known to many for his honorary position as TSV chairman, has been at home with his wife for five years.
And the design of the cover is also “Made in Eching”: The two sisters Amelie and Leni Beer, the latter TSV press officer and player in the women's team, took on the leading roles: Amelie was responsible for the post-processed and alienated cover photo in a bold silhouette the sister as a "photo model".
The idea for this book, according to Rudolf Hauke, was the informal get-together over dinner at a table with care experts who "told such exciting, touching, funny and moving stories that I thought of writing about them" .
The author began doing specific research around two years ago.
The writing process was interrupted again last year by Hauke's poor health as a result of his cancer treatment for several months - but he was not discouraged.
He preferred to write in the mornings and with concentrated ease, because that's where thoughts and formulations flow best, according to his experience.
Almost inevitably, Hauke built the current corona pandemic into his novel.
In the end, the novel ventures an optimistic look into the future, where Corona is fortunately a thing of the past.
Info about the book
Rudolf Hauke: “At a distance and yet so close.
From the life of the nursing expert Martha Liebscher ”;
BoD 2021, 197 pages, 9.90 euros.
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Rudolf Hauke at his home office - as an author on the PC.
There he set a projection of Lake Echinger as a background image for Zoom conferences.
© Wilms
