I just finished this book by Franco di Mare. In English, the title and subtitle, as I would translate it, is “The Words to Express, the War Outside and Inside of Us.” It is a book by the first Italian journalist to cover the conflict from Sarajevo after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia (the war ‘outside’) while discussing his battle with mesothelioma (the war inside), of which he died recently, in May of this year. It was interesting to me for a couple of reasons. The first is that reading his account recalled to me seeing and hearing the news from that part of the world back in the early 90’s, and the horrific carnage that occurred there as the city and country broke apart in the civil and ethnic breakdown of their society. The heartbreaking story of the Romeo and Juliette of Sarajevo, later immortalized in a documentary, as well as other accounts of individuals killed and families broken apart. It was also interesting because I made the acquaintance a few years back of a family that had escaped from Sarajevo. The father recounted stories of having to evade the snipers daily and even once crawling across the airport at night as he struggled to survive.
The other thing that struck me as he wrote about this war inside, his cancer and his impending death, were the words and emotions which I find myself experiencing as I also reflect on my own life and as I think about life in general. A couple of quotes and his thoughts summed up his life philosophy in an excellent manner. The first was an African proverb “If one wants to finish first it is best to run by oneself, but if one wants to go far it is best to walk with others”. The second quote is from Shakespeare, “… if I think on thee my dear friend, all losses are restored, and sorrows end” (Sonnet 30). The last in his own words, “I have learned that the most important part of the journey is not the finish line but the path. By giving up running, everything acquires flavor and meaning. You progress better, you enjoy the company of your loved ones and you make the most of the best parts of the journey, which are the stops, the moments in which you can enjoy the beauty of the panorama with a glass of red in your hands. “