Exactly five years ago on this day, four foreign cyclists were killed in Dangara
My Story After My Son’s Death is a 426-page diary. It was led by Gia Santovasco almost from the day of the tragedy that overtook her on July 29, 2018. On this day, her 29-year-old son Jay Austin died at the hands of terrorists in Dangara .
Grief, according to Gia, has 5 stages and the last one is acceptance. But to this day, she has not been able to achieve it.
“I can hardly breathe, living in this black hole, and accepting this fact would be quicksand that would suffocate me. I know Jay is dead. But I can’t accept that Jay is gone. There is a difference in this,” writes Gia Santovasco, who came up with the idea of publishing a book based on the diary for a reason.
At first, Gia led it for herself in order to pour out all the pain and live the grief, but then she realized that the story of a long and difficult journey could help some other soul who has grief, because from denial to acceptance, according to her, a person experiencing a lot of confusion.
“It captures the events, feelings, signs sent from the other side. But most importantly, these are stories about the trials and difficulties associated with grief. Everything that another grieving mother can come into contact with, laugh through her tears and understand that she has not lost her mind.
By sharing my experience, I hope that my stories will help another lost soul, ”says the description of the book on Amazon, where it is already available .
According to Jia, the money raised from the sale will be used in its entirety to fund The Jay Austin Simply Be Kind Foundation, a non-profit organization .
It was created by Gia herself in the name of her son, who, according to her, loved nature, animals, people and life.
“Jay was not a world leader or a Nobel Peace Prize winner. He did not find a cure for an incurable disease. But Jay Austin was obsessed and passionate about creating positive change.
He was a kind and gentle soul who genuinely cared about protecting our planet. Therefore, continuing his path and his hobbies, this Fund was created. And the money raised from the sale of the book will go towards a campaign to plant a pollinator garden,” Gia explains .
Recall that on the day of Jay’s death five years ago, 3 more cyclists – citizens of the United States, the Netherlands and Switzerland – were killed by terrorists.
Among them was his girlfriend – American Lauren Johegen Gagan . The couple called their journey, which then brought the Americans to Tajikistan, “Dreams come true” on their blog.
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For the sake of this dream, they gave up their jobs, their self-built mobile homes, and their traditional way of life. They went to South Africa, Morocco, traveled through Eastern Europe, reached Tajikistan, and through East Asia, Australia wanted to return home – to America, but their plans did not come true.
Source : Asia Plus