Sabine Kuegler

Who is Sabine Kuegler?

Sabine Kuegler is a German author. She has written several books, two of which have been translated into English. These two books are related to her uncommon childhood: from age 7 to age 17 she lived with her parents and two siblings in the jungle of West Papua, with the remote tribe of the Fayu.

Her parents were the first whites to live with the newly discovered tribe of about 400 people, who hunted with bow and arrow, ate snakes, insects and worms, and practiced inter-tribal warfare and revenge killings. The Kueglers were there to study the tribe's language. Her mother, trained as a nurse, performed midwife duties with the tribe. At age 17, Sabine Kuegler left and attended a Swiss boarding school. She is divorced and has four children. Her parents have returned to Germany.

Her best-selling first book Dschungelkind describes her experiences in the two different cultures and her occasional nostalgia for the simpler, slower life of the tribe. An English translation appeared in the same year and a German film adaptation in 2011. Her second book, Ruf des Dschungels describes a visit to the Fayu that she undertook in late 2005. A third book, "Jäger und Gejagt" describes her experiences living in Europe.