In this powerful and stark memoir, Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux recounts the trauma of her illegal abortion in 1960s France. As a young, brilliant student, she finds herself pregnant and facing a future derailed by societal judgment and restrictive laws. Ernaux documents her desperate, lonely search for a solution, the physical and emotional ordeal of the procedure, and its profound, lasting impact. Written with clinical precision and unflinching honesty, 'Happening' is not just a personal story but a universal testament to the fight for bodily autonomy and a crucial piece of social history.