“Cartas desde el infierno” by Ramón Sampedro

I read a lot in Spanish and have decided to add a category to this site entitled “Book Reviews” in which I will post information about some of the best “Spanish-related” books that I have read and that I think my readers could be interested in.  To kick-off this new section of the site, I’d like to tell you about a book by Spaniard Ramón Sampedro, a man with a tremendous will… to die. 

Ramón Sampedro was a sailor from the Galicia region of Spain who, one day when he was in his twenties, had an accident while diving into the sea.  This accident left him paralyzed from the neck down.  After his accident, Sampedro lost his will to live and petitioned the Spanish government for what he referred to as his “right” to euthanasia.  His petition was the first of its kind in Spain and was denied by the government.  In fact, the judge who heard his trial went one step further by declaring that anyone who helped Sampedro to take his own life would be tried for murder (Sampedro, due to his physical limitations, was incapable of committing suicide for himself and would need someone else’s help in order to end his life). 

After his petition for euthanasia was denied, Sampedro spent many years living his life in a bed, refusing to use a wheelchair to go outside, advocating for his right to end his own life, and writing with a pen in his mouth and paper laid out at his bedside.  Eventually, Sampedro did manage to get help from a friend and did end his own life in 1998.  There was not enough evidence to convict the friend who assisted Sampedro of murder; however, she did publicly admit to helping Ramón carry out his final wish after the statute of limitations on the case had run out.

If you’re interested in knowing more about the history behind Ramón Sampedro, you may want to check out this Wikipedia article about him or this article in El País that was published after his friend admitted to helping him end his own life.

In any event, the book that I wanted to tell you about is entitled “Cartas desde el infierno” and was written by Sampedro before his death.  It is in Spanish and includes a collection of poems, short essays, and reflections on life from Sampedro’s point of view.  I read the book and really enjoyed it… in fact, the book gave me a lot of insight into what it’s like to be living in the state that Ramón was living in and helped me to understand what he was fighting for.  It also let me reflect on my own life and the meaning behind it.  Surprisingly, the book doesn’t really have a sad tone to it and it isn’t just a rant from some guy about wanting to commit suicide… it is much more profound and has a deeper significance.  If you’re interested in learning a little more about the book, you may want to check it out on Amazon.

If you like the book, you may also be interested in a movie created by Alejandro Amenábar about the life of Sampedro and his fight for his own death.  The title of the movie in English is “The Sea Inside” and it too is available on Amazon (the movie itself has English subtitles, you have to listen to it in Gallego / Castellano / Catalán).  I own the movie as well and really liked the insight it gave me into Sampedro’s life. 

That about does it for this little book review.  I hope you enjoyed hearing my opinion about the titles above.  They certainly provide a unique bit of insight into a man who was an important figure in recent Spanish history.  Please, leave any comments you have about these titles, Ramón, or anything else below. 

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://www.abroadinspain.com