What does freedom mean, not as a concept, but as a way of life?
Not as a slogan, but as the result of life journeys, formative experiences, decisions, and turning points?

"FREEDOM?!" doesn't seek to explain this very special way of life, but rather to bring it into view.

Through in-depth conversations with figures from diverse cultural, political, artistic, and intellectual backgrounds, a Franco-German panorama of freedom emerges: contradictory, personal, and open.

The focus is not on definitions, but on biographies. Not on ideals, but on experiences. Here, freedom appears as something that has come to be, shaped by socialization, social circles, resistance, opportunities, and individual perspectives on the world.

Among others, the book will feature: Bazon Brock, Boris Palmer,Michel Houellebecq,Charlotte Casiraghi, Wolfgang Kubicki,Philipp Peyman Engel, Marko Martin, Ulf Poschardt, Raphaël Enthoven, Roman Lipinski, Frédéric Lo, Frauke Petri, and Zazie de Paris.

Each individual voice broadens our view of freedom as an attitude, an imposition, a responsibility, a risk, or a lived contradiction.

The book does not synthesize these perspectives into a single truth, but opens a space for resonance. It invites readers to find their own place within it and to question their own conception of freedom.

This project is aimed at people who do not merely claim freedom, but live it. At those who are willing to share their experiences, doubts, and convictions—not as representatives of a group, but from the perspective of their own life stories.

Published by TriMax Verlag ( publisher: Jürgen Stollberg), this high-quality coffee table book combines images and conversation, serving as both a historical document and an invitation to further reflection.

Photo: Ilka Grüneberg

The author:

 Dr. Ute Cohen livesin Berlin and works as a writer, journalist, and presenter. Her interviews appear in renowned newspapers and magazines.

The doctor of linguistics and history worked for many years in Düsseldorf and Paris for leading American management consultancies and an international organization. She is an alumna of the German National Academic Foundation.

Her novels Satans Spielfeld (Satan's Playing Field, 2017/2021), Poor Dogs (2020), and Falscher Garten (False Garden, 2022) were published by Septime Verlag. In November 2021, the conversation volume Chaos? Hinhören singen mit Ingrid Caven (Chaos? Listening and Singing with Ingrid Caven) was published by Kampa Verlag. 

In July 2024 , "Der Geschmack der Freiheit. Eine Geschichte der Kulinarik" ( The Taste of Freedom: A History of Cuisine) was published by Reclam Verlag. In March 2025, "Glamour. Über das Wagnis, sich kunstvoll zu inszenieren" (Glamour: On the Risk of Artfully Staging Oneself) was published by Zu Klampen Verlag.

.The German art theorist and professor of aesthetics Bazon Brock.

The outspoken mayor of Tübingen and former Green Party member, Boris Palmer.

The Monegasque writer and philosopherCharlotte Casiraghi.

Berlin-based AI artist Roman Lipinski.