Annie Ernaux is one of France's greatest living writer. Her books, in particular A Man's Place and A Woman's Story, have become contemporary classics in France. The Years won the Prix Renaudot in France in 2008, the Premio Strega in Italy in 2016, and was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize in 2019. In 2017, Annie Ernaux was awarded the Marguerite Yourcenar Prize for her life's work.

How did she go from zero to being an heroine and what prompted her to indulge in an illegal abortion as a young college student?

This book is a story about the life of a woman who is changing the world the way no one else can.