Born behind the Iron Curtain in 1955, Thomas Schardt had very little say in how his life would be. The government dictated his every move with little resistance from Thomas or his family: work, home, career, and schooling were all in the hands of the East German republic. As Thomas developed from a boy into a man his discontent grew as well. Was his future to be a tiny insigni cant cog in the giant wheel of the overbearing Communist machine? Little by little, Thomas took control of his own destiny. In the face of threatening government of cials, the scorn of his family, his own crippling...