Bestial acts, inhumane procedures, and lack of social empathy burden the grief of those who have lost a loved one.
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“At home, the photo albums were never opened again.” Alberto tells it in a calm voice. “I open them secretly.” His brother Eduardo died at a young age in 1997. “If I do it alone, no one will be as sad as me.” He died by suicide. “It’s an intuitive, violent, irrational, unnatural death”. He didn’t say this until 2020. Alberto, journalist Alberto Gomez , delivers in Against the Silence (Libros.com) his testimony of loss, wounding, and the journey to coexist with pain. His story brings together the experiences of others with whom he shares a grief group in Barcelona.
Genoveva also lost her brother to suicide nearly a decade ago. “These types of death have many additional characteristics, so those of us who have suffered them are called survivors,” he elaborates . There are so many things that make those close to you vulnerable. Survivors experience deep pain. “Grief does not end, it is manageable, it is always with you ” , explains Juan José Escudero, whose son Nico left under similar circumstances at the age of 19. The survivors are in danger. He himself, he admits, was haunted by “black holes” at the time.
José Carlos Soto has also dedicated himself to prevention since his daughter Ariadna, who also committed suicide, died in 2015. “In that moment, we became different patients,” he recalls. In the midst of the drama, he and his partner were overwhelmed by the confusion that prevailed in the house. Lots of people doing their jobs, striving for efficiency rather than delicacy, making unfortunate mistakes. Since that day, he has also tried to train those who assist in such emergencies. “I’d rather have someone give us a hug without saying anything,” he says.
