In Ik ga leven (I'm going to live), Lale Gül writes about the strict Islamic family and community in which she grew up. Gül was praised for her debut, but also threatened. With her work, Gül fits into a long tradition of writers who wrote about their religious community and leaving it. During this program, we will talk to Lale Gül and to two writers who preceded her, Jan Siebelink and Franca Treur, about writing about religion, looking at your surroundings, about how the individual story can be something universal and of course writing itself. Lale Gül, Jan Siebelink and Franca Treur all wrote about their youth in an orthodox family. Their work caused a storm of reactions. What did they take into account while writing? How did they write these books? And can a book bring about change? About the speakers: Lale Gül grew up in a strict Islamic family in Amsterdam-West. She studies Dutch at the Vrije Universiteit and made her debut this year with her autobiographical novel Ik ga leven (I'm going to live). Until she was seventeen, she went to a Koran school run by the Milli Görus Foundation on weekends. In Ik ga leven she disputes everything she learned there and more. The book stirs up a lot and has been on the list of best-selling books in the Netherlands for many weeks. After its publication, the author became the target of intimidation and death threats. Franca Treur was born and raised in Zeeland. She studied Dutch and literary studies in Leiden. She wrote, among other things, the novel Dorsvloer vol confetti (2009). A debut that was highly praised in literary circles, but was less warmly received by many people from the Reformed community in which she grew up. Treur won the Selexyz Debut Prize and the Jan Bruijns Prize for Dorsvloer vol confetti. She also wrote the novels De woongroep, Hoor nu mijn stem and Regieaanwijzeren voor de liefde in addition to various short stories, essays and columns. Jan Siebelink was born in Velp, where his father ran a small florist. He became a teacher and studied French language and literature in his spare time. Siebelink made his breakthrough forty years ago with the novel De herfst zal pracht zijn (The autumn will be brilliant). He received the F. Bordewijk Prize for De boven van de rivier (The other side of the river, 1990). In 2005, his novel Knielen op een bed violen (Kneeling on a bed of violins) was published, with which he conquered an unprecedentedly large audience. This novel incorporates various memories from Siebelink's own strictly religious, Christian youth. The book was awarded the AKO Literature Prize and has been translated into several languages. Siebelink has a very extensive oeuvre. In 2019, he wrote the Boekenweekgeschenk Jas van belofte (Jas of promise), the Dutch Book Week gift. In 2020, Maar waar zijn die duiven dan (But where are those pigeons then) was published.