FriesenPress

© 2026 FriesenPress, Inc. All rights reserved.



A Life without a Map cover
Go to Cart

  • eBook Edition
    • 978-1-03-836637-5
    • epub, pdf files
  • Paperback Edition
    • 978-1-03-836635-1
    • 5.5 x 8.5 inches
    • Black & White interior
    • 540 pages
  • Hardcover Edition
    • 978-1-03-836636-8
    • 5.5 x 8.5 inches
    • Black & White interior
    • 540 pages
  • Keywords
    • Postwar Germany memoir,
    • Late-life travel memoir,
    • Ballet dancer memoir,
    • Cross-cultural memoir,
    • Travel memoir,
    • Reinvention after loss memoir,
    • Starting over in mid-life memoir

A Life without a Map
A Memoir of Life, Loss and Adventure
by Ute Reusch-Wilson


When Ute Reusch-Wilson was three years old, she and her family returned to their home in Essen, Germany, after an eleven-week trek as refugees in shattered, war-torn Germany. Stunned to see the house still standing, they began to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of war. Young Ute discovered a talent for dancing, and she was pulled into the world of ballet in England and Germany, with a sideline into television. An unexpected romance with a Canadian Air Force pilot and a debilitating injury pulled her out of her artistic world and into a new life shaped by her husband’s military commitments, and their shared love of sailing and adventure. When he died at a tragically young age due to cancer, Ute rewrote the rules of her life, turning it into a globe-spanning mosaic of love, friendship, and freedom, a way of life that has continued well past the age when most people stop rewriting their story. Equal parts lyrical, candid, and funny, A Life Without a Map is a memoir about resilience, adventure, and the stubborn courage required to keep moving when the road one expected to take keeps changing.

www.lifewithoutamap.ca


Ute Reusch-Wilson photo

Ute Reusch-Wilson photo

Ute Reusch-Wilson has lived a colourful life. Born in the midst of World War II, during which she and her family became refugees in their native Germany, she went on to become a professional ballerina and television performer in Europe. This was followed by a stint in the Canadian diplomatic corps alongside her husband, a member of the Canadian Air Force, during which they entertained global leaders and dignitaries from all over the world. She and her husband also sailed all over the Mediterranean and other places around Europe. In her later years, Ute travelled extensively, with her adventures taking her to virtually every continent. Now settled in Comox, British Columbia, she still spends winters in Ajijic, Mexico, and continues to explore the world, returning to Germany to visit family whenever possible.


Contributors

Author
Ute Reusch-Wilson
Go to Cart

FriesenPress Editions

Support our self-published authors and purchase your books directly from FriesenPress. This purchase directly supports a Canadian author.

Canadian Maple Leaf

Publish with FriesenPress

Learn how you can publish your book with the world’s only 100% employee-owned publishing services provider.


Get Publishing Guide