I Gaze Upon the Soul

A versatile entrepreneur and one of the most intriguing figures of post-communist Eastern Europe, Evelin Banev, alias Brendo, wrote this spiritual novel about self-discovery and love during his politically motivated imprisonment.  As he notes, “This book was born in prison because the love for life cannot be deprived of freedom.”


I Gaze Upon the Soul is a simple, yet inspiring story about a once powerful global player named Max who returns home to his daughter after a twenty-year wrongful imprisonment.  In his bittersweet and brief return, Max takes his daughter on a journey through the transcendental “stops” of his individual suffering, enlightenment, and freedom.  The sacred father-daughter confessions are a scripture of the secrets to finding peace, faith, and lost treasures within the soul and a testament to the power of the human spirit. 



Evelin "Brendo" Banev is a Bulgarian entrepreneur and a former Greco-Roman wrestler. He has been exploring the spiritual domains in life through philosophy, music, art, and athleticism for most of his life. In 2012, he was arrested and imprisoned in Bulgaria and Italy for almost two years. During this time, he faced not only intense and generally sensational media scrutiny, but also the brutal kidnapping of his ten-year-old daughter, who was held captive for nearly two months. It is in these dire circumstances that he began writing.