This year the famous Dutch theologian celebrates his eightieth birthday. His long life has not been without its problems, including three investigations of his theology by the Vatican authorities. Neverthekess, looking back on it in these autobiographical reflections, he can say 'I am a happy theologian'. The Book arose out of a series of conversations with a journalist from the Italian journal Il Regno, Francesco Strazzari. During it, Schillebeeckx talked 'as though he had met you in the street and you had asked for directions, or as if he was sitting at a table in a cafe'. His language, originally a mixture of English, French and German, and then rendered into Italian, is clearer than in his many books, and his style is warm, humorous and personal.