After the Rose Revolution of November 2003, Dutch publishers approached Georgia's First Lady, Sandra Elisabeth Roelofs (born in 1968, mother of two sons), a translator by profession of French and German, to Write a story for Dutch readers about her life in Georgia. First published in 2005, her story has been translated into Georgian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Russian and English. Included is a compact disc of Georgian songs sung by the author. This book is a compelling story of a young woman who travels to Georgia for the first time, who meets her future husband Mikheils Saakashvili at the institute for Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, and who follows him to New York where the young Georgian lawyer spends to yerars before returning to Georgia to start apolitical career. She tells  the story of her untegration into Georgian society, working for the International Red Cross, for the Dutch Consultant, active as a teacher of French and as a business consultant, raising their eldest son, and adapting to the constantly  changing political tensions that naturally reflect on the couple's family life. Roelofs provides unique insight into the causes, which lead to the peaceful Rose Revolution when her husband Mikheil Saakashvili ousts Eduard Shevardnadze to become the president of Georgia.  This new English translation of The Story of an Idealist contains two extra chapters depicting the first four years of her husband's presidency (2004-2008) when she, as a very active and committed first lady, focuses mainly on humanitarian and health care issues. The epilogue describes her personal experiences during Georgia's war with Russia in August 2008.