Interview with Katharina von der Gathen, author of the book "Radishes from Below" on the occasion of her reading at the Museum for Sepulchral Culture
4 October 2023
What inspired you to write a children's book about dying, death, and grief?
Katharina von der GathenI think the idea had been simmering inside me for a long time. I've had a lot to do with death in my own life. I also know many children's books that deal with the topic. But what I often felt was missing was that curious perspective children have on the subject – and the questions they have about it. There are many wonderful children's books that offer stories about how to process grief, for example. I often missed the factual explanation: What actually happens to a body when someone dies? What do you do with it then? Where do the dead go? That was my motivation. And also to incorporate my own curiosity, the kind I had as a child.
In your opinion, what are the key features of a good children's book on such topics, and how can the book help children?
Katharina von der GathenA good children's book, above all, takes children's questions seriously. We adults are often quick to want to protect children and avoid talking to them about such topics – because they are still so young and because it might not be good for them. I think it's important to be open and as honest as possible and to try to answer children's questions on their level.
You work with children in your daily life, are a sex educator, and deal with topics that are sometimes difficult to address because they are still partly taboo in society. What makes the exchange with children, especially on such topics, so special?
Katharina von der GathenOnce you open this door to these secret rooms and talk about sexuality or even death, children realize they can ask the questions they carry around with them. And that's what's so special: if you prepare the ground, children can also come forward with their fears. They learn that there's nothing you can't talk about. These are topics that many adults often feel uncomfortable discussing as well. But no one has a definitive answer to the profound questions connected with death. Confronting these questions together, bringing together individual perceptions, ideas, or what one knows, often creates a very special connection.
Katharina von der Gathen Katharina von der Gathen works as a sex educator and author in Bonn. She particularly enjoys conducting sex education projects with primary school children, who also provided the many questions for her educational books. Together with Anke Kuhl, she has published "Explain It to Me" (2014), "The Love Life of Animals" (2017), and "Explain It to Me Further" (2018) with Klett Kinderbuch Verlag.
