This Sunday, November 24, Virginie Grimaldiemblematic author and figure of contemporary literature, was Frédéric Lopez's guest on the show A Sunday in the countryside on France 2. Alongside Kendji Girac and Dany Boon, the French writer spoke about a painful subject: the tragic loss of her first child.
Virginie Grimaldi, a moving testimony, “a deep depression”
With palpable emotion, Virginie Grimaldi recounted this day when her life changed. “The day I go to give birth, the pregnancy ends. He is in my stomach and he dies in my stomach. So I gave birth to this first child that we had been waiting for with a lot of love and I plunged into a deep depression.she confided, with tears in her eyes. This tragedy, which occurred when she was at the end of her pregnancy, left an indelible mark on her and her husband Arnold.
The mother of two other children also spoke of the impact of this loss on their daily lives: “All the tomorrows evaporate suddenly, all the plans you had… We were there, his room was there. There was a funeral, there was a birth. It's a child who exists“she said.
Resilience driven by writing
Faced with this immense grief, Virginie Grimaldi, often despised in literature, found refuge in writing. “The blog saved me by allowing me to transcend everything I feel, all this pain, to do something with it“she explained. His stories, sometimes funny but often tinged with sadness, allowed him to transform his emotions into a creative force.
The 47-year-old author also shared how she rebuilt herself: “I said to myself, 'he wouldn't like to see you in this state'. Because really, I was in a sorry state.”she assured. This desire to make her child proud helped her get back on her feet, while strengthening the bonds with her husband. “It upset both people that we were, my husband and I.”added the mother.
Today, although the pain remains, Virginie Grimaldi continues to honor the memory of this child, whom she still considers her eldest. “He has always remained present and is still very present in our lives today.“she confided.
An author with a journey marked by ordeal
Successful novelist, Virginie Grimaldi became an essential voice of feel-good literature in France, with works like The First Day of the Rest of My Life or It's high time to light the stars again. Behind her immense success lies a resilient woman, who draws on her most intimate trials to nourish her writing.
The loss of her baby is not the only tragedy she has overcome. In 2023, the latter also lost her father to Alzheimer's disease. A pain that she sublimated in her novel Bigger than the sky.
