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Returning to Reims by the French sociologist Didier Eribon is an innovative attempt at social self-analysis, that is, autobiography combined with theory, taking into account the social factors that influence a life. Setting out to explore his detachment from his family, Eribon analyses the rightward drift of the working-class. Published 2009 in France, especially its German translation became a bestseller. This article reviews Eribon's project in the context of biography theory. Taking into account that Eribon started out as biographer of Michel Foucault, it deals with the connection of auto/biography and theory and outlines the theories (by Bourdieu and Foucault) and methods behind Eribon's returns and reflections.