Here telling the story of his life for the first time, reviewed through the events that have made their mark on humanity over the past eighty years, Pope Francis shares the origins of the ideas, considered daring by many, that have characterized his papacy: from brave pronouncements against poverty and the destruction of the environment to direct appeals to world leaders to follow a different course on matters such as dialogue between peoples, the arms race, the fight against inequality.

From the outbreak of World War II in 1939 - when the future pontiff was not quite three years old - to the present day, Jorge Mario Bergoglio takes his readers by the hand and, with his reminiscences, leads them on a remarkable journey through the decades. The pope's voice, in his most personal memories, alternates with that of a narrator, who in each chapter sets the historical scene. In the pontiff's own words, "Life came to light so that young people in particular might listen to the voice of an old man and reflect on what our planet has lived through, so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Let us think, for example, about the wars that have afflicted and continue to afflict the world. Let us think about the genocides, the oppression, the hatred between brothers and sisters of different faiths. What suffering! Having reached a certain age, I know it is important that we too reopen the book of memory and make remembrance: in order to learn by looking back in time, to rediscover the things we have experienced that are not good, that are toxic, as well as the sins we have committed, but also to relive everything the good Lord has sent us. It is an exercise in discernment that we should all carry out before it is too late."