A plea for sorrow | Femke Van der Laan | TEDxAmsterdam

2 years after the loss of Amsterdam’s former mayor, and Femke’s husband, Eberhard van der Laan, Femke initially had difficulty coming up with the contents of this talk. The sadness took over. Memories of sorrow overpowered her drive to make the talk she had imagined to create. But now, she made something pure, raw, and more honest. It’s a plea for sorrow.
Sorrow lets us do funny things. It forces us to hide and feel ashamed. It forces us to feel afraid and vulnerable. We do not allow ourselves to feel truly sorrowful. Why? Feeling sad is something that cannot be ignored. It requires attention. If we don’t address it, we overflow. That’s why we share. We listen. We connect. We expose ourselves and we heal. We never fully recover, but we know we are not alone. Embrace your sadness. It’s what makes us human. Femke van der Laan used to be a writer of columns for several Dutch magazines. Usually those pieces of writing had a fun, light feel to them, they were easy reads. However, all that changed in 2017 when her husband, Eberhard van der Laan, the mayor of Amsterdam, died. Cancer got the best of him, and she was left with 3 young children and the collective grief of the city. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@peterlejewaan9189]

lieve Femke veel sterkte met dit verlies dag lieverd god Bless you

[@jaccobastings8224]

isnt she the purest and most lovely. womab in the world ????? she is shat everyone of us wants to be

[@simonemeijerhof8145]

Respect! Zo mooi verwoord!! Dankjewel.

[@vandeberg649]

Oh oh ... uitmelken v relatie met oude beroemde man...