In his celebrated and controversial autobiography, Nobel laureate Günter Grass peels back the layers of his own life. He covers his childhood in Danzig, his experiences as a young soldier in the final months of World War II, including his shocking admission of service in the Waffen-SS, and his beginnings as a writer and artist. The book is a profound exploration of memory, guilt, and the often painful process of confronting one's past, reflecting on how personal history shapes national identity and artistic creation.