In March 2014, when a plane traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing suddenly vanished from radar, the farewell to Helgard Haug's father had just begun. His memory became unreliable, orientation increasingly difficult. The once articulate man sank, drifting away – similar to the MH 370, with 239 passengers on board, which disappeared into the sea around the same time. "All right. Good night," reportedly were the pilot's last words. After that, all trace was lost. Was it an accident? An attack or suicide? The plane remained missing, the cause of the crash unresolved. However, the father's forgetfulness acquired a name: dementia. Over a span of eight years, Helgard Haug traces the vanishing, the search, and the struggle with uncertainty, intertwining her own experience with the grieving process of the bereaved from the aviation disaster.
This debut by one of the most influential voices in German-language theater is a touching and illuminating book that explores how personal loss and the suffering of others are intertwined.
"Helgard Haug describes with love and dignity – one is reminded of Arno Geiger's Der alte König in seinem Exil – the gradual process of dissolution of a strong personality." ORF
