Grandmother Johanna's living conditions in particular posed challenges for the author: sole responsibility for running a business left little room for dialogue, so that first-hand information was scarce; due to the war, archives no longer contain complete records.
For the grandparents' generation, it was difficult to talk about their memories, especially about difficulties and problems. Nevertheless, Nierhoff succeeds in recounting his family's history and the blows of fate they suffered, placing them in their historical context and highlighting the strengths of all three women individually. "Each of the three women transcended the limitations of their time," says Nierhoff, summarizing their moving biographies.
With the right balance of humor, historical facts, and emotion, Lutz Nierhoff recounts the history of his family and the painting business in "anno 1578."