Heleen van Royen

About Heleen van Royen

It Hurts So Much

In the film ‘It Hurts So Much’, Heleen van Royen paints a portrait of her mother, who has been diagnosed with early-stage dementia.

A portrait from very close up: Heleen operates the camera mostly herself. Over a period of more than a year, she follows her mother in everyday situations and on the journey through doctors, care facilities, and clinics. Difficult decisions about moving, euthanasia, and precious moments of togetherness alternate.

A loving, recognizable, painful, and often particularly funny tribute to life, thanks to Heleen’s mother, Mrs. Breed.

Heleen van Royen has created a special lecture about her mother. During the presentation, Heleen, using 8 exclusive excerpts from the film ‘It Hurts So Much’, takes the audience along on the ‘journey’ she made with her mother during the process of living at home, informal care housing, hospital to nursing home. Heleen talks about the dementia process, informal caregiving, and provides a “behind the scenes” glimpse into her life and that of her mother with dementia. The presentation lasts 45-60 minutes, after which there is an opportunity to ask questions. If desired, this can also occur during the presentation, depending on the focus of the day.

Writer

Heleen van Royen is the most well-known, most notorious, and best-selling Dutch author at the moment. She debuted in 2000 with `The Happy Housewife´, of which more than 150,000 copies have been sold to date. The book was published in eight (!) countries, adapted into a play, and a film was released.

In May 2003, `Goddess of the Hunt´ was released, which entered the bestseller lists at number one from nothing. `Goddess of the Hunt´ is the best-selling Dutch novel of 2003 and was nominated for the NS Publieksprijs.

In addition to her novels, Van Royen gained fame through her columns in Het Parool. Her style is bold, candid, moving, and sharp. Humor is her trademark. Van Royen does not shy away from any topic and never holds back: she might consider breast enlargement one week, worry about her mother-in-law’s broken hip the next week, and a week later declare herself in favor of the war in Iraq. Her revealing columns about the Amsterdam councilor Oudkerk caused a nationwide uproar. Van Royen’s provocative columns were compiled at the end of 2003 under the title `You’d Be Married to That´, a phrase from 1991 by SBS program maker Ton van Royen. In March 2004, HP/De Tijd dedicated a cover article to `The Phenomenon Heleen van Royen´.

Relationships in the broadest sense of the word is one of the many themes she can narrate about in a humorous, reflective, and always practical manner. Whether it concerns the relationship between man and woman, the adulterous relationship, the relationship between mother and child, between brother and sister, or the relationship between colleagues in the workplace.

Van Royen regularly gives lectures across the country. Her work lends itself well to presentation and interaction with the audience. Sometimes intense discussions arise among the attendees.

Moderator

Thanks to her journalistic background, Heleen van Royen is excellently suited as a moderator; she is able to quickly familiarize herself with topics, is naturally curious, and always in a good mood.