How were you able to write about such a difficult subject with such insight and empathy?
My father was chronically depressed and often talked about suicide. So that threat was present in our house. When my brother was young he had serious depression too, which lasted over a year. Later I experienced at close hand how disastrous the consequences of suicide can be for those who are left behind.

Is that what you want this book to show?
In part. I’m mainly interested in grief. Boudewijn goes through a delayed grieving process. As a survival tactic, he froze all of his emotions when his mother committed suicide. But now he’s stuck. He’s even pushed his girlfriend away because he doesn’t dare to start an intimate relationship with her. His mother is standing in his way, because of his anger about her abandoning him and his grief that she’ll never be there again. Boudewijn’s dad tells him to start a diary. Writing allows him to put his grief into words and he slowly climbs out of his valley of despair. I truly believe that’s how it works; writing really can get you back on your feet.