A book about the real life of a person who managed to convey an unconditional embrace to his family and his environment, serves to weave new relationships and raise awareness about the reality of people with disabilities.
Sense paraules It is both a book and an excuse. Its author, Francesc Brunés Marfà, a member of the Focolare community in Girona, not only recounts the life of his daughter María—who, due to a severe disability, was unable to speak for her entire 39 years—but also opens a window onto the many nuances of love that are only revealed in extreme situations sustained over time. It is autofiction, a literary genre highly valued today, that emanates the warmth and intimacy born from a family experience of pain and radical love, openly shared with anyone who wishes to approach it, whether they knew María or not.
But Sense paraules is also an excuse. Both reading it and the presentations taking place throughout Catalonia offer an opportunity to connect with people experiencing similar situations within their families or communities. The book, which invites readers to delve into those aspects of human experience that transcend language, fosters an emotional atmosphere of dialogue from which new relationships and bonds of understanding emerge. Simply signing a copy, Francesc tells us, “becomes an opportunity for some people to open their hearts and their scars wide to me.”.
The two presentations held in the city of Girona this spring also provided an opportunity to invite representatives from the cultural sector, community organizations, the Catholic Church, and the city council. These events served to promote new awareness and training projects that allow for a deeper understanding of the rich experiential lessons about love and pain hidden beneath the limitations of disability. Likewise, the round table discussion on “Disability as a Factor of Humanization,” organized by the Fundació Veu and the parish of Calella, with the collaboration of the Focolare Movement community, was another opportunity for raising awareness, as it included, in addition to Francesc, the testimonies of Montserrat Niubó, María José Serra, and Núria Sendra.
As the renowned writer Maria Mercè Roca states in the prologue to Senses Paraules, “it is a serene lesson in how life's losses can be lessons in hope.” A book that is, ultimately, an excuse.
