“I Am an Animal: The Story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA” will premiere Monday night on HBO and allow viewers to have a glimpse inside the life of the animal rights organization’s co-founder and president.

PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals – was founded in 1980 by Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco. In its 27 years of existence, the organization has fought for the rights of animals like no one else, exposing blood-chilling torturous practices in slaughterhouses, laboratories and the fur trade.

Ingrid Newkirk is a woman who has committed her life to protecting animals and making the world a better place for them; a woman who, at 58, has no children and has stayed away from romantic relationships in order to devote her time and energy to the causes she holds dear. Furthermore, her will orders that her body be barbecued, in a terrifying metaphor for what cooking animal flesh means.

The documentary follows Newkirk around as she goes through meetings and stages a protest outside a Jean-Paul Gaultier shop selling fur (a protest involving red paint smeared over Newkirk and the shop’s windows) and shows hideous images from a turkey slaughterhouse.

Director Matthew Galkin gathered material for the documentary over a two-year period of filming, according to USA Today and said the experience changed his perspective on Newkirk’s persona and work – she is well known for controversial stunts to promote PETA’s message of peace towards animals.

“I thought she was crazy and the people who work at PETA nuts,” Galkin told USA Today. He then discovered “she has this steely veneer, but she can be funny and engaging. She's one of those people who needs to look in the dark corners of the world.”

Newkirk herself told the newspaper that she was somewhat ambivalent about the documentary: on one had she hopes the PETA footage of animals being tortured in the process of becoming “food” will incite viewers to make some personal changes; on the other hand, she did not expect the portrayal Galkin created of her.

“I'm not a morose person,” she told USA Today. “I'm amazed at what (Galkin) left out and a bit uncomfortable about what he put in. I suppose people can make fun of me and deride us for the things we do. All that matters is we get out the stories of what's being done to animals.”