The child of Communist war-hero parents under Tito’s regime in postwar Yugoslavia, Abramovic was raised with a relentless work ethic. Even as she was beginning to build an international artistic career, Marina lived at home under her mother’s abusive control. But nothing could quell her insatiable curiosity, her desire to connect with people, or her distinctly Balkan sense of humor. This book is also a love story: a twelve-year collaboration with fellow performance artist Ulay, much of which was spent penniless in a van traveling across Europe, a relationship that began to unravel and came to a dramatic end atop the Great Wall of China.