Johan van Konijnenburg has spent nearly his entire working life with people who have an intellectual, psychological or physical disability. Not as a care provider, but as a person among people. Where help was needed, he offered it, as far as he could. Where advice or a listening ear was needed, he gave it. Where an embrace could offer comfort, he embraced. Where there was laughter, he laughed along. And where tears flowed, his often flowed too. Through all those years together, he thinks and hopes he has come to understand something of their world of experience.
At the same time, he finds the world outside sometimes at least as hard to understand. Humanity seems to have to make way more and more often for rules, protocols and systems. In just over thirty-five years, he has been privileged to work with more than five hundred remarkable people. Some for only a few days or weeks, others for months or years. With most he worked together for more than fifteen years, and with a few even for over thirty-five years. One had a mild disability, another a severe or very severe one. Yet they all shared the same thing: the joy they experienced together in the art workshop.
It was a place where they could be themselves. Where they could develop, play, laugh, tease each other and above all feel safe and at home. Their disability was not central there; their personality was. Precisely because of this, the remarkable conversations, the disarming humor and the sincere friendships arose, which form the foundation of his book Ik ben sterk. The strength of this workshop did not go unnoticed and over the years was regularly featured in the local media. In addition, Johan van Konijnenburg had the honor of setting up and supervising several art workshops within various care institutions.
Now that he has grown a little older and has more time, Johan van Konijnenburg has written down many of these stories and remarkable encounters. Enough for perhaps four books. One story moves you, another makes you laugh out loud, and some are so absurd that you can hardly imagine they really happened.
He considers it a privilege to be able to share these stories with a world that often has little insight into the daily lives of people with an intellectual, psychological or physical disability. Although there are books in which these people play a role, their disability or care needs are often central. Johan deliberately chose a different approach.
Ik ben sterk is not about disabilities, but about people. About their humor, their quirks, their talents, their sorrow, their friendships and their resilience. Through his many years of involvement and his open, equal way of dealing with people, Johan was able to build a special bond of trust. Those experiences formed the basis for this book.
A moving literary novel about humor, friendship, loss and the strength of ordinary people.
In a colorful art workshop for people with an intellectual, psychological and/or physical disability, no day is like the next. There is painting, singing, laughing, bickering and endless talk about everything that makes life special: cookies with coffee, television programs, being in love, dish soap, dreams and sorrow. Amid all the everyday chaos, you meet an unforgettable group of people. The impulsive Mees, the eccentric Jennie, the loud Femke, the headstrong Jari, the loyal Natalie and the sweet old Jaap. Each with their own story, their own view of the world and a disarming honesty that often says more than a thousand wise words. What begins as a collection of humorous and sometimes absurd encounters slowly grows into a loving portrait of people who are often seen only through their disability, while they show us what friendship, loyalty and joy in life truly mean.
An art exhibition that returns every year is always the highlight of the year. Hundreds of visitors enjoy colorful artworks and the often zany, moving and unforgettable performances of the artists themselves. When the art workshop is also asked to take part in a national art program, their familiar world suddenly comes into contact with television cameras, journalists, well-known Dutch personalities and curious visitors. While the outside world mainly thinks it sees "special people," they discover how ordinary these people really are.
But even in this safe world, growing old, vulnerability and farewells remain inseparable from life. Precisely when difficult moments arise, it becomes clear how strong the bond between them really is and how much people can mean to one another.
Ik ben sterk is a novel based on true events. With warmth, humor and emotion, Johan van Konijnenburg paints a world that is unknown to many, yet surprisingly recognizable. A story that makes you laugh, moves you and invites you to look with new eyes at people who are often judged by their disability, while they may have the most to teach us about humanity.
"Sometimes it is precisely the people we least expect who teach us the most about life."
The publication date of `Ik ben sterk` is not yet known.
As soon as more information is available, this page will be updated.
Working title:
NIKS BIJZONDERS
Johan van Konijnenburg has now begun his second book about these remarkable people. Here too, the focus is not on their disability or care needs, but on the people themselves: their thoughts, dreams, humor, quirks, experiences and view of life. Perhaps this second book goes one step further in exploring what it means to be human.
