Contemporary psychological novel
I Give Back What Was Never Mine
Lylia ISK. English edition, available as ebook, paperback and hardcover.
I Give Back What Was Never Mine is the English edition of the book by Lylia ISK, published by Éditions Clair Regard. It is Volume 1 of The Paths of Élise. Élise is a fictional character. She is not Lylia ISK, and the novel is not an autobiography of the author. The French edition is titled Je rends ce qui ne m'appartient pas.
The story
A woman looks back at everything she agreed to carry: the silences of a family, the needs of a partner, the guilt of people who never asked themselves any questions. One by one, she gives it back.
The novel works two ideas into the narrative. The Dressed Madman, the person whose perfect social surface hides a private collapse. And the Mirror Questions, short questions that return the reader to their own story.
Formats and prices
Paperback
$19.99
ISBN 979-10-985893-3-1
Ebook
$8.99
ISBN 979-10-985893-4-8
Hardcover
Partner bookshops
ISBN 979-10-985893-7-9
Audiobook
Coming soon
ISBN 979-10-985893-5-5
Where to buy
Available as a hardcover edition through our partner bookshops. Ask your bookseller and quote the ISBN.
Questions and answers
- What is I Give Back What Was Never Mine about?
- It follows a narrator who learns to separate what belongs to her from what she has carried for other people: emotional control, family loyalty, inherited shame and the slow return to herself.
- Is it based on a true story?
- No. It is a work of fiction. The psychological mechanisms are documented and realistic, but the characters and events are invented.
- What is the Dressed Madman?
- Le Fou Habillé, the Dressed Madman, is the socially impeccable person whose inner disorder stays invisible. The costume reassures everyone around and makes the suffering unreadable.
- What are the Mirror Questions?
- Short questions placed throughout the novel that send readers back to their own experience. They turn reading into inner work without offering ready made answers.
- Is Élise the author?
- No. Élise is a fictional character created by Lylia ISK. The novel is not an autobiography of the author. Lylia ISK is the author and the founder of Éditions Clair Regard, while Élise is the central character of the series The Paths of Élise.
- Where can I buy the English edition?
- The ebook and the paperback are available on Amazon and Fnac, and the ebook is also listed on Apple Books and Kobo. Your bookseller can order the hardcover edition using the ISBN.