Sami Saikkonen writes in his autobiography that he fell in love with Sonja when she was 22 and he was still married. The admission concerns a romance that began while Saikkonen was formally committed to someone else. People close to the former footballer reacted with surprise when the relationship became known. Saikkonen uses the story to examine the choices and emotional consequences that have shaped his adult life. The wider book moves through several romances that ended badly, rather than presenting the Sonja episode in isolation. The couple's story forms one of the book's most personal chapters and sits alongside Saikkonen's reflections on separation and failed partnerships. His account offers a direct view of love, marriage and the breakdown of relationships from his own experience.