This autobiographical volume covers the first twenty years of Niki de Saint Phalle's life, from her birth in 1930 until 1949. The book unfolds as a richly illustrated autobiographical narrative in which chronological memories are interwoven with paintings, sketches, handwritten reflections, poems and archival photographs. Niki de Saint Phalle recalls her childhood within an aristocratic Franco-American family, her years in New York during the Second World War, family tensions, first friendships, early love affairs and her growing fascination with literature, colour and artistic creation. She also addresses painful personal experiences with remarkable openness, demonstrating how memory and artistic imagination became inseparable. Rather than functioning solely as an autobiography, the volume is conceived as an artist's book in which visual and literary elements together form a deeply personal testimony. It constitutes the first part of her autobiographical project and offers valuable insight into the psychological foundations of her later artistic oeuvre. Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002) was a French-American artist internationally celebrated for her sculptures, assemblages, monumental public artworks and experimental artist's books. Initially associated with the Nouveau Réalisme movement, she gained worldwide recognition through her "Tirs", the monumental "Nanas" and the visionary Tarot Garden in Tuscany. Throughout her career she explored themes including freedom, feminism, identity, violence, healing and imagination. Her autobiographical publications reveal the intimate experiences that inspired much of her artistic production and remain essential sources for understanding both her life and her work. (AI-generated content description)