M.E.L. up and down My boy from Costa Rica

Marion Lehmann tells an exciting and deeply moving story about adventure, adoption and saying goodbye in two time periods. The first part delves into her childhood, into a close-knit Swabian family home with secrets and allies, from which she says goodbye at the age of 21. She lives in the USA for two years. She then discovers her passion for sailing in the Polynesian South Sea. She signed on to the catamaran Shangri La. Life on the water becomes her home, with and in nature. A few years later, she continues her life with her husband on a steel sailing yacht. Cramped and with many hardships, they endure five years of wild sailing adventures in the Caribbean and the Bahamas. In the second part, she tells of her decision to end her life on the ship. They adopt the Nicaraguan refugee Manuel in Costa Rica and return to Europe. The boy turns out to be a dazzling personality. Until he meets a tragic end far too soon with his risky lifestyle. MEL up and down tells of the ups and downs of her son, who remained true to his destiny, who flew through his mother's fate and urges her to remain true to hers.