Meet the Authors
Martin Schleske
Martin Schleske is an award-winning luthier and the author of The Sound of Life’s Unspeakable Beauty and Listening Hands: Eavesdropping on the Sound of Life. His passion for violinmaking and acoustical research have produced remarkable results, such that Strad magazine describes him as “one of the most important living violinmakers.”
To learn more about Martin and his work as a writer and luthier, please visit his website by clicking on the button below.
Christopher Schacht
Over a four-year period, Christopher Schacht traveled to more than forty-five countries. During his travels, he encountered many different cultures, fascinating landscapes, dangerous adventures, great hospitality — and the Maker of all the greatness. Upon his return to Germany, Christopher studied theology and now works with Life Lion, a Christian media project.
To learn more about Christopher and his trip around the world, click on the button below.
About the Process
Martin Schleske
Courage Not My Own
He put his powerful hand down in front of me and spread his fingers apart. Looking me straight in the eye, he said, “You are telling me that you are going to cut off one of my fingers and everything will be okay, that I’ll never miss it.”
“No, Martin,” I said, “It is more like I’m taking gloves you have worn and tailoring them to my size. The gloves will still have ten fingers, but now they’ll be tailored fit smaller hands.”
Of course, we weren’t really talking about fingers or gloves. We were talking about my translation of his best-selling book, the book that changed so many lives, “Der Klang vom unerhörten Sinn des Lebens;” a book widely believed to be untranslatable.
I had never tried to translate a book before, and the fact is, I didn’t really know that I was becoming a translator at the time. All I knew was that Martin Schleske’s book was getting me through one of the lowest points of my life, and I wanted to share that encouragement with others.
My plan was to find a publisher, and that publisher would find a real translator to do justice to this masterpiece. But, as I contacted one company after another, each one asked for a little more of the book in English: one chapter, then three, then five, and finally the whole manuscript.
During that visit to meet the author of “The Sound” in person, he prayed over my work on his book and quoted Joshua 1:9 to me: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you.”
This courage was not my own. The Holy Spirit lent me the courage to take on the challenge of translating such a phenomenal book. In truth, I was very intimidated by Martin Schleske. I still am! Most of the time, this borrowed courage has allowed me to stand up and fight for the very best English translations of his work, translations that speak straight to the heart. I don’t win them all, though! Not everything that ends up on paper is my choice. But I love the struggle: kneading the words again and again, soaking in the meaning and spirit of a passage, hitting brick walls, praying, talking with many experts and friends and wrestling with the text until it finally feels right.
Martin and Janet in 2021
Label inside Janet's "Schorschi" viola.
Martin chose John 15:11 for the dedication: "I have told you these things so that my joy will be in you and so that your joy will be complete."
Janet and Christopher in 2018
While we were still editing my first translation, “The Sound of Life’s Unspeakable Beauty,” some of my work made it back to publishers in Germany. One of the German editors recommended me for “Mit 50 Euro um die Welt.” When the English publisher approached me to translate Christopher’s book, they wanted a quick turn-around: could I translate the whole book in less than seven months?
If I agreed, I knew I would be working on the book non-stop for five or six months before we started the editing process. Basically, I would have to exchange my life for his. So I asked myself, do I want to live his life? After reading Christopher’s book, there was no question. Heck yeah! I would love to live vicariously through this crazy kid! What an amazing series of adventures!
Christopher agreed to skype with me on a weekly basis to go through what I had just translated. That way he could give me feedback and I could ask questions. These weekly conversations quickly became a highlight for me. Talking with Christopher was like talking with my own children (especially Zeta!). He was smart, thoughtful, and hilarious! What a ride. I hope the readers enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed translating it!
