Benny Lindelauf

Two years ago, my father-in-law passed away after a year of illness. He made a great impression on me with his resigned attitude. He simply continued living: a drink every now and then, looking at his garden, a piece of cheese, until that life was over. He died peacefully in his sleep. At his farewell, I read a story that became the original version of the book that has now been published.

‘The woman and his head’ is a picture book for adults. It is about dealing with loss, with illness, but also about resilience and hope. When I had written the story, I knew immediately that there was only one illustrator I wanted to ask to provide the story with images: the Flemish Ingrid Godon, who makes beautiful and very different work, but whom I specifically asked for her phenomenal portraits. Ingrid read the story and immediately responded: ‘Yes, I would love to.’ We went to publisher Querido together and they loved it too. And now it is here.