About the book: 2020 / Paula Modersohn-Becker was here: she was friends with Rilke, wandered through the wastelands, painted children and peasant women, was fond of nudism, kept a diary and became the first artist to decide on a nude self-portrait. During her lifetime, Paula did not receive recognition: caustic reviews were written about her exhibitions, and she managed to sell only three paintings - much less than her husband, the artist Otto Modersohn. The Nazis destroyed some of her works, considering them “degenerate.” But Paula always had defenders. Among them is the French writer Marie Darriesec, who created a lively and accurate literary portrait of Paula - the story of the unequal struggle of the expressionist with the artists of the early twentieth century, the search for her own style, friendship with Clara Westhoff and marriage with Otto Modersohn, her life in Worpswede and Paris. “To Be Here is a Miracle” cements Paula's reputation as a major figure of modernism and sheds light on the difficulties faced by artists on the path to professional recognition..