Mother (91) who often figured in work by Marcel van Roosmalen passed away | Book & Culture

Paula van Roosmalen-Breekelmans, the mother of Marcel van Roosmalen, has passed away at the age of 91. The writer shares this in his column for NRC. The columnist often wrote about his mother with dementia in his columns. He also wrote the book My legendary mother survives everything – Corona, dementia, solitary confinement and other misery.

“Surrounded by photos of parents, children and grandchildren, she finally fell asleep,” Van Roosmalen writes on Tuesday. “She spoke her last words a few weeks ago between two spoons of porridge. ‘It is no longer necessary.'”

“For her, death was now a friend who announces his visit at every turn, but something always came in between.” He “gave her death,” the columnist continues. “I think I was relieved when I heard the news. But face to face with reality (…) the loss still overwhelmed me.”

“It’s over now,” writes Van Roosmalen. “Her statue of Mary is on our mantelpiece. It looks very ordinary, very different from before. The magic was not in the stone, but in Paula van Roosmalen-Breekelmans.”

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