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Renowned Danish poet and fiction writer Tove Ditlevsen, who died by suicide in 1976, reaches a new audience with the 2021 release of her experimental memoir. Originally published between 1967 and 1971 as three books—Childhood, Youth and Dependency—this year marked the first time it was sold as a single volume. The collection explores Ditlevsen’s journey from an impoverished childhood spent dreaming of autonomy and future literary accomplishments to the circumstances that constrained her even as an adult: multiple marriages, motherhood, a sexist society and addiction. Writing from the perspective of her younger self, Ditlevsen transports the reader in this poignant, evocative and, surprisingly, often amusing tone.

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