Jacqueline Jencquel, † 78, was doing well. Her mind was as healthy as ever, she exercised her body with the help of a handsome young coach and she had fewer aches and pains than others. Mild osteoporosis and sometimes back pain. There weren’t many other problems. Still, she wanted to die. In France, she fought for the right to self-determined dying.
Words by: @michaelkneissler
Photo by: @tjencquel
extra update: Unlike Switzerland, there is no legal assisted suicide in Germany. On Thursday, 06. July 2023, the Bundestag (German federal parliament) debated two new regulations on this, both of which were rejected. This means that the legal framework for assisted suicide remains uncertain.
In addition to the article in TABOO, the documentary "Jackie the Wolf" has been running in German cinemas since June 2023. It shows Jacqueline's path to self-determined dying and her views on life and death. Directed by her son, Tuki Jencquel.
ITALY-BASED FRIENDS SAVE THE DATE
We’re preparing our trip to Italy for @mag__to__mag next Saturday & Sunday (6. – 7. May) in beautiful Bologna, Italy. Together with many other independent magazines, we will exhibit and sell TABOO (for a special price) in the most beautiful location, a historic building, now used as the library. Come say hi!
Saturday, 6. May 2023
10:30 – 20:00
Sunday, 7. May 2023
10:30 –19:00
Biblioteca Salaborsa
Piazza del Nettuno 3
40124 Bologna BO
Italy
Studio Nectar (@studio.nectar ) is a Cologne-based creative duo focused on creative direction, photography, production and set design. They kindly contributed their work “Sisterly Saffron” to the first issue and wrote about death:
“In some situations, one has the feeling that deceased persons are still there, even if one can neither see them nor grasp them. You feel their presence as if they lived in a parallel world.“
Lea Franke (@leasphotos )is a photographer and photo editor. Her project "Ein Baum wächst übers Dach“ (A tree grows over the roof) documents the passing of her grandmother. We met in Dortmund at the cemetery and talked about the project, our ideal funeral and the family as a special support.
Cologne-based designer and photographer Johannes Growe (@johannesgrowe ) contributed this two-colour silkscreen print to the magazine and wrote about death:
“Whether there is someone to guide you over the threshold, take you by the hand and carry you to heaven, sail me towards Hades, or whether you will walk into a bright light all on your own. All this is a wandering into the unknown. What could be better than being able to experience something new that you haven't yet mastered or got to know. A pleasant feeling - somehow.”
If you’d like to purchase a print, slide a message into @johannesgrowe DMs 🖤
We spoke to the philosopher and journalist Krisha Kops (@krishakops ). He explained, what the ego has to do with the fear of death. And why in India death is more interwoven with everyday life.
Read more in TABOO – The Death Issue.
Photos by @chiefsqueensibiza
A contribution by Cologne-based artist and designer @sophiaschach .
She writes about death: “After much thought, I have now decided on a picture. The view from the window into my grandmother's garden. Since my father died, she no longer leaves the house and no longer goes into her once so dearly loved garden.“
Grieving is one of the most universal challenges in our lives. There are few – if any – people able to get through life without experiencing loss, making grief an inevitability for all of us. Literature has a lot to offer in this section, and we have bundled our recent favourite reads for you:
1. Irvin D. Yalom – A Matter of Death and Life
2. Isabel Allende – Paula
3. Siri Hustvedt – What I loved
4. Joan Didion – The Year of Magical Thinking
5. Connie Palmen – I.M.
6. Benedict Wells – The End of Loneliness
