Are our children small wonders and mysteries or just stepping stones to adulthood? How have we perceived and treated children throughout history? And how can we get closer to our own children before they grow up?

Birger Emanuelsen investigates and explores our perceptions of children. Through a wealth of sources, he writes about the value and importance of children, how we decide how to treat them, and what it really means to be a parent.

Before they dieappear is a well-informed documentary novel about the responsibility parents have to prepare their children for the world, and how they can approach doing this. But it is also an up close and personal tale about one of the most fundamental questions of life: What is a child?

«An enriching and thought-provoking book»
KLASSEKAMPEN

Child-rearing for connoisseurs
«This is for those of you who can't stand another banal self-help book.»
VÅRT LAND

Moving book
«Birger Emanuelsen has written a poetic and scholarly book about childhood.»
MORGENBLADET