The 'palliative biographer' who's there to record life stories for the dying

DW (English)

Journalist Sabrina Görlitz was fascinated and fearful about death and dying — until it became part of her job. Now she records the personal histories of terminally ill people so that they may be remembered well by those left behind.

Transcript

00:00Travelling between heaven and earth, Sabrina Görlitz is on her way to the next life story.

00:10The 43-year-old meets people shortly before their death to look back one last time.

00:16I'm about to meet Mrs Göhrweid. She's lived to a very old age.

00:22That means I have a great life of 87 years ahead of me.

00:27The challenge will be to boil it down to the essentials in about an hour.

00:34The two women have an appointment today at 11 o'clock at a hospice in Hamburg.

00:46Hello, Mrs Göhrweid. Nice to see you.

00:57Gisela Göhrweid has terminal lung cancer.

01:00Shortly before her death she wants to look back on her life.

01:03She particularly remembers the birth of her son,

01:06whom she brought home from hospital wrapped in thick blankets on a hot summer's day.

01:15My husband called the hospital.

01:17Our child, we've taken him out of hospital, but he's always crying.

01:22What are we supposed to do?

01:24Then the nurse on the other end asked, what is he wrapped in, blankets?

01:28Take them off.

01:32In an hour and a half they wander through her life.

01:35Everything is recorded on Sabrina's phone.

01:38Then Gisela Göhrweid starts talking about the death of her husband.

01:42Sometimes I talk to him.

01:47My daughter-in-law says we're all connected.

01:52She says we'll all see each other again.

01:57That comforts me.

02:03Afterwards Sabrina Görlitz writes everything down.

02:08She usually receives a small amount of money for this.

02:11The result is a booklet of around 15 pages that can be passed on to relatives.

02:16The hospice manager supports the project.

02:20The creation of this booklet makes it necessary for everyone involved to come to terms with the situation.

02:27For many this is painful at first because it means looking at the end of life.

02:33And yet it is an opportunity to start talking about it among family members.

02:49Two days later, Dorothea's in-law Verena Warstadt has also come to the hospice.

02:54Sabrina Görlitz will read out what Gisela has told her.

03:00I was born in Königsberg in 1936, before the Second World War.

03:05And those early childhood years were wonderful.

03:09Both in Königsberg itself and later in East Prussia.

03:14The two women are connected by one thing to this day.

03:19The early death of Malte, Verena's husband, Gisela's son.

03:25Do I have words for what it feels like when your own child dies?

03:30I think it makes a difference why a child dies.

03:34Whether it is a road accident or a serious illness.

03:37Well, drug addiction is also a serious illness, but I was expecting it for a long time.

03:42At some point the body is just too weak from all of that stuff that it can't take anymore.

03:49Gisela Gilwald was able to relive the beautiful and difficult moments of her life.

03:55And she expresses a clear hope.

04:01It would be nice if Malte and Peter could welcome me up in heaven.

04:06They will.

04:08And those who stay here can think of me when they hear Traviata.

04:13At least at the beginning they can think of me.

04:18We will.

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