There are moments in life when you realise that nothing is ever guaranteed. Health, plans, travel and the simplest everyday gestures can suddenly take on a different meaning. That is how Je respire encore was born.
I am Mr Schaka, a Belgian author living between Liège and Bangkok. I write to tell stories, share experiences and put into words what life sometimes forces upon us.
When life changes without asking permission
Illness disrupts habits, forces you to rethink your plans and sometimes asks you to accept that some days no longer look like the ones you had imagined. There are kinds of tiredness that are hard to explain, and things you give up without really choosing to.
But one question remains: what do you do with what is still possible? I have no miracle recipe. Instead, I believe in the small things that keep their value: a page written, a conversation that does you good, a project you finish or a day you get through at your own pace.
Why I wrote Je respire encore
Writing this book was a way of giving a place to a personal experience and letting it exist beyond me. Behind the medical words there is a person, a story, emotions and a unique way of carrying on living.
This memoir does not claim to tell others how to live with their illness. Every journey is different, and willpower alone is not enough to overcome everything. Instead, I wanted to share a human experience, with its difficulties, its questions and its moments of searching for balance.
Carrying on creating, even differently
Writing lets me explore different worlds, from crime fiction set in Liège to Thai landscapes and personal stories. Creating does not make the difficulties disappear, but it can offer a space of freedom and a chance to build something.
Sometimes you have to adjust your pace, accept less productive days and let go of the idea that you must do everything as before. A single page can be a victory. An idea saved for later can remain a project waiting for its moment. A break is not necessarily giving up.
Between Liège and Bangkok, keeping a love of stories
Liège has its atmospheres, its streets and its secrets, a setting well suited to detective stories. Thailand offers other material: contrasts, encounters, journeys and discoveries. These worlds reflect the same desire: to tell, to observe and to share.
I do not want to lock my work into a single category. A crime novel can make you think, a travel story can become an inner exploration, and a personal account can open a conversation.
What I would like to pass on to readers
I do not claim to have all the answers. I prefer to share stories and experiences. Life is not just the obstacles we face: we remain people with tastes, wishes, plans and things to pass on.
Carrying on does not necessarily mean going faster. Sometimes carrying on means slowing down, changing your priorities, asking for help or finding pleasure again in things you no longer noticed.
Discover Je respire encore
I wrote this memoir to share part of my journey and open a door onto my personal world. If these pages help one reader feel less alone, or help a loved one better understand what someone who is ill is going through, then they will already have served their purpose.
Discover Je respire encore and the other books presented on mrschaka.com.
The book
Mr Schaka lives with pulmonary fibrosis and has been travelling in Thailand for years. In The Season of Breath he tells the story of that journey, one step at a time, with humour and no self-pity.
