Friedrich Nietzsche worked on this autobiography from October 1888 until his breakdown in the spring of 1889, without being able to complete the book. In the work, Nietzsche retrospectively reflects on his most important works, placing a strong emphasis on his longed-for "revaluation of all values" and the associated radical critique of Christianity. At the same time, the book also reveals the mentally exalted state that escalated into megalomania, in which Nietzsche found himself just before the onset of his mental illness.