Autobiography of My Body
In November 2024, acclaimed novelist Lize Spit, author of ‘It Melts’, ‘I Am Not Here’ and ‘The Honest Finder’, made her nonfiction debut with ‘Autobiography of My Body’, a book that quickly soared to the top of the bestseller lists. In this deeply personal work, Spit reflects on her difficult relationship with her mother, how it shaped her experience of her own body, and how she managed to come to terms with these feelings.
Extremely physical and intimate.Humo
At the end of 2021, Spit received the news that her mother was terminally ill. Her mother conveyed this through an email – a striking example of their difficult relationship. Spit’s mother had long struggled with alcohol and found communication very difficult, often expressing a desire to disappear. Growing up this way, Spit internalized some of these patterns, resulting in a complex relationship with her own body. One that often felt as if it were closing down on her.
A beautiful book, at the same time merciless and full of mercy.Het Parool
Over the next two years, Spit tried to make sense of it all by documenting what happened to both her mother and herself. To prepare for what was laying ahead, she had to look back: at her childhood, at the difficult bond with her mother, and at the ongoing struggles with her own body. How do you experience such a profound farewell in a body that has learned to suppress everything?
‘Autobiography of My Body’ is a deeply moving, confrontational, yet ultimately loving exploration of a daughter’s attempt to understand both her mother and herself.
Spit puts her primeval book in the hands of the reader. All is in there, the complete Lize. Powerful and fragile, it is a porcelain hammer.De Standaard
