Education never ends

Review of Schreiber: At Home

Author

Daniel Schreiber (*1977 in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) is a German writer and journalist. After studying literature, Slavic studies, theater studies and performance studies in Berlin and New York, he published the book Susan Sontag. Spirit and Glamor. His texts have appeared in media such as Die Zeit and Deutschlandradio Kultur. In works such as Zuhause (2017), he explores childhood, identity and his homosexuality. With Nüchtern (2014) and Allein (2021), which enjoyed international success, he has shaped the literary essay genre. Schreiber lives in Berlin and is a founding member of PEN Berlin.

Background

Daniel Schreiber, himself a journalist and essayist, is known for his reflective and personal works. His earlier works, such as Nüchtern and Allein, deal with fundamental questions of human existence. Zuhause was created against the backdrop of his own biography: a childhood in the GDR, life as a gay man in an often unaccepting society and his search for belonging in various metropolises such as London, New York and Berlin. The diverse influences from his life story and the philosophical perspectives of thinkers such as Hannah Arendt, Vilém Flusser, Susan Neiman and Didier Eribon shape his autobiographical essay. His approach of linking personal experiences with cultural-critical and anthropological considerations should be emphasized.

Structure and contents

The book is divided into eight chapters, each of which sheds light on different aspects of the concept of home. In the first chapter, Where does the longing come from? Schreiber addresses the complex and ambivalent nature of the concept of home. He defines home as a multidimensional concept that combines physical, emotional and social aspects. Schreiber emphasizes the universal meaning of security, belonging and community, which manifests itself both individually and collectively. His analysis is characterized in particular by the link to anthropological constants and the reflection on the modern understanding of home - as a search and construction. His references to Pico lyer, Edwar Said and Arjun Appadurai as well as Susan Neiman, Theodor W. Adorno and Hannah Arendt or Jacques Derrida are part of the theoretical foundation. It becomes clear that the concrete meaning of home depends on the respective time and culture. In general, however, there is always a desire for a home, about which Schreiber says: “It determines how we organize our social lives, how we think about who we are and how we see the society in which we live” (p. 12).

After showing that home is not just a physical place, but a lifelong process, an inner and social space, he leads into the next chapter, What our heritage is (see p. 14). Here, Schreiber examines the role of memory and narrative in the construction of home. He describes Heimat as “an unreal place of longing [...] of nostalgia and unfulfillable desires” (p. 32) and traces the cultural and political implications of the term. His reflections on German history with a focus on the 19th and 20th centuries are particularly strong here. He describes this using the example of part of his family history. He uses this to illustrate the history of flight and migration that shaped Germany. Schreiber also addresses the difficulties involved in creating a collective identity. He describes the term homeland as a nostalgic and often unreal concept that is associated more with loss and longing than with real experience and serves as a collective symbol of defense.

The chapter The expansion of inner geography is then dedicated to the tension between sedentariness and departure. Schreiber describes home as an ambivalent and fluid experience that develops in a constant conflict between staying and leaving: “The further I got away from where I had grown up, the freer I felt, the more I came to myself, the better I felt.” (S. 46). Philosophical perspectives, such as that of Karen Joisten, underpin the thesis that home is not only a physical place, but above all an inner process: “Finding a home means finding a place in the world where we arrive - and this place will first and foremost be an inner place, a place that we have to work for.” (S. 57). The need for reorientation is seen as an expression of personal freedom and development. Reflection on the ambivalence and transformative power of changing places is a particular focus of this chapter.

In the following chapter, Where I came from, Schreiber examines the interactions between origin and identity. Based on the statement “Continuity is nothing but an illusion”, he describes the construction of individual and collective identities (p. 58). One focus is on the idea of horizontal identity (Andrew Solomon), which “[...] runs at right angles to the family tree and is oriented towards foreign life possibilities.” (S. 64). Childhood in the GDR is presented as a formative but often alienating experience, as “[...] children were a strange form of public property” (p. 66). Identity is seen as a dynamic process of the individual that is shaped by both familial and societal influences. The reality of life of queer people in particular serves as an example here, as they internalize beliefs of being less valuable in the construction processes of the self. Here, Schreiber refers to Didier Eribon's concept of being-in-the-world. Particularly noteworthy is the reflection on the tension between shame, forgiveness and belonging, which is borrowed from Jacques Derrida.

This is followed by the chapter The homeless home. Here, Schreiber first discusses the function of language as access to the world, with each language describing the world differently and thus offering different approaches to it. He also describes the paradoxical nature of big cities, which offer anonymity and familiarity at the same time. He reflects on the idea of a homeless home that is based less on fixed ties than on inner freedom. Based on Aleida Assmann, the city is interpreted as a storehouse of collective and individual memories, whereby it can be both a hiding place and a place of self-discovery: Cities are “[...] ideal hiding places, strange and familiar at the same time, hiding places where one has the choice to show oneself or to go underground, hiding places from other people - and from oneself.” (S. 91). The connection between urban lifestyle and identity is at the heart of this chapter. Schreiber also emphasizes the idea that although it is not possible to escape one's own origins, it is possible to find satisfaction in dealing with one's own stories of origin.

In This Feeling of Security, Schreiber now links the concept of ontological security according to Anthony Giddens with the feeling of being at home. Home is described as a constructive achievement that requires time, work and a willingness to locate oneself, and which binds people to a place, to people, to a certain landscape [...] through personal “[...] experiences and memories” (p. 97). He criticizes the trivialization of changes of location and emphasizes the importance of routines and everyday structures for the formation of identity. The balance between individuality and social integration is presented as essential for a sense of security. Walking is one way of accessing a place and making it one's home (cf. p. 108). Here he makes reference to Roland Barthes, but places him alongside Frédéric Gros, for whom walking is also a “[...] fundamental freedom of self-forgetting [...]” (p: 107).

Schreiber picks up on these thoughts in the chapter Come to yourself, in which he focuses on the processual nature of being at home. Home is again described as a dynamic and changeable concept that is closely linked to self-knowledge and narrative identity formation. Schreiber takes up the theories of Yi-Fu Tuan and Vilém Flusser and emphasizes that home is a temporary and often illusionary concept, while living offers a more stable, but also changeable basis. The home serves here as a vanishing point for the individual's relationship to the world: “Hardly any other place reflects our relationship to the world as fundamentally as our home.” (S. 114). In addition to the scientists mentioned, Schreiber also cites Gaston Bachelard and Maggie Nelson to substantiate his statements. Towards the end of the chapter, he emphasizes: “Cities are strange places, we expect paradoxical things from them: On the one hand, we want the greatest possible anonymity. On the other hand, we want this anonymity to be broken several times during the day - by familiar faces, friendly people, people who are close to us. We want to remain largely unrecognized, but we also don't want to be alone.” (p. 120 f.). However, Schreiber shows a positive and active view, namely that even if you have not chosen your place of residence yourself, you can make a home out of it by being open and willing to get to know it from all sides. According to him, it takes courage to build a life that you don't flee from, but that you face up to (cf. p. 122).

The chapter The beauty of scars concludes the book. Here, Schreiber pleads for the acceptance of imperfection and change. He emphasizes that home is not an ideal, fixed place, but a dynamic process: “Being at home means imperfect and constant arrival” (p. 132). This perspective runs through all chapters and forms the core of his argument. Home is understood as a place that must be “good enough” to provide space for growth and adaptation (p. 131). He refers here to concepts from Donald Winnicott and Adam Phillips. According to Schreiber, finding a home requires self-knowledge and an awareness of one's own changing life story. Home is an imperfect, constant arrival that we have to make ourselves aware of again and again (cf. p. 132).

Discussion

In Zuhause, Daniel Schreiber succeeds in combining a universal theme with personal depth and philosophical reflection. Particularly noteworthy is the elegance of his language, which manages to convey complex ideas in an understandable and appealing way. His autobiographical stories, such as his experiences of discrimination as a gay youth or life in the GDR, lend the work authenticity and emotional resonance. The connection between personal experiences and theoretical reflections - for example on the work of Hannah Arendt or Anthony Giddens, as well as Didier Eribon or Martin Heidegger - raises the book to a pleasant intellectual level.

Despite Schreiber's extensive openness and honesty, he remains descriptive and never slips into voyeurism. He is particularly successful in deconstructing nostalgic notions of home and at the same time emphasizing the importance of security and belonging for the individual. Schreiber comments: “In truth, our stories of home are stories of settling down, setting out and settling down again. They are stories of continuous coincidences to which we attach great importance in retrospect, of historical upheavals over which we have no control” (p. 39). The combination of autobiographical and cultural-critical perspectives helps readers to engage in their own reflections on their own biography and their own understanding of home.

One point of criticism could be that Schreiber only marginally addresses the intersectionality of his experiences, such as the intersection of homosexuality and migration. This would have embedded the work even more strongly in current socio-political discourse. All in all, however, it is an autobiographical essay to which different standards should be applied. Zuhause is convincing due to its complexity and in-depth analysis of the question of what it means to feel at home somewhere. Unfortunately, Schreiber also makes use of psychoanalysis, which as a pseudo-science cannot provide a cure, but at best a way of living with it. This is reflected in statements that reproduce the myth that trauma cannot be healed. However, in addition to the rather factual statements, this is also a personal report of a therapy over many years and many sessions. Therefore, it also reflects an account of personal suffering.

Schreiber repeatedly and successfully emphasizes that our perspective on life can never be completely neutral, as it is inextricably linked to the place and circumstances of our origins. Our family and social background shapes our view of the world from the very beginning and remains with us for the rest of our lives. Following Didier Eribon, he makes it clear that this basic imprint not only influences our individual self-image, but also determines our relationship to society and our place in it (cf. p. 43).

Another strong element is Schreiber's reflection on the ambivalence of big cities, which offer both anonymity and familiarity. His observation that cities like New York can create a “homeless home” (p. 91) is one of the most impressive passages in the book. He describes New York as a place that made him feel at home without the obligations of a permanent home. The city gave him a special freedom, as it always offered an option for retreat and change. This home away from home became a space of peace and reorientation for him, in which he could get to know himself better and redefine his path (cf. p. 91). This perspective opens up new ways of thinking about the relationship between identity, space and community. Especially when he emphasizes: “[...] loneliness is an inherent part of city life” (p. 90).

Schreiber also emphasizes very well that the feeling of being at home is closely linked to the perception of one's own self. Following Peter Blickle, he clearly describes that a healthy self requires a balance between individuality and social integration. Schreiber succeeds in presenting the concept of home not only as a symbol for identity, but in part as synonymous with it, as identity is always shaped by social structures (see p. 101).

All in all, he comes to a conciliatory conclusion: we are often already where we belong, even if we are not always aware of it. Home is not a static place, but a concept that changes over the course of our lives. It must provide space for change and the constantly evolving needs that shape our lives (see p. 131). In conclusion, the book calls for self-reflection in relation to being at home and being in the world, because: “The perfect home, the place where you feel at home in every respect, be it socially, professionally or in love - this place does not exist and never will. The completely fulfilling and happy home is an ideal that does not exist in real life. Nevertheless, we can feel at home, each and every one of us” (p. 129).

Overall, Schreiber succeeds in making a topic of universal relevance both analytically and emotionally tangible. His book encourages readers to reflect on their own ideas of home and to accept the ambivalence of this concept.

Conclusion

Zuhause by Daniel Schreiber is a very personal work, both in literary and philosophical terms, but it also addresses universal questions of identity, security and belonging. Schreiber's intelligent reflections, supported by sociological and philosophical references and personal anecdotes, make the book a contribution to the discussion about home and homeland that is well worth reading. The central insight that home is not a fixed place, but an inner process, is very well elaborated: “Being at home means imperfect and constant arrival” (p. 132). Despite the weakness of making a strong reference to psychoanalysis, it is an inspiring work that invites reflection on one's own life.