Marissa Sanchez tackles the sensitive topic of death in ‘My Farewell Slambook’
“First of all, this wouldn’t be possible kung wala po ang nag-iisang Ogie Diaz. Maraming, maraming salamat sa ‘yo,” singer-comedienne Marissa Sanchez opened the media launch by expressing gratitude to her friend and former manager. The celebrity host and manager is the one behind organizing the successful event that launched Marissa’s personal book project — My Farewell Slambook (with scrapbook).
What is My Farewell Slambook?
“Life is uncertain. I think this is timely because time is fleeting. Marami po akong naexperience na namamatayan. Namatayan na nga sila, tapos, nagiging confused pa sila kung anong gagawin nila, anong uumpisahan nila,” Marissa began. “Wala silang alam kung ano ang preparasyon ‘pag namamatayan. Hindi ka nga nakakaiyak sa umpisa ‘di ba? Kumbaga tulala ka muna bago ka umiyak. Dahil lito ka, hindi mo alam kung anong gusto niya [the deceased].” She added that the older generation seems to have the mindset that talking about death is taboo. “‘Yung parents nation ‘di ba they find it morbid to talk about insurance, passing on. Ayaw nilang pinag-uusapan ‘yan but we have to face it.”
“I think the subject of death is being suppressed but it will come to all of us,” the usually wacky Marissa was serious while explaining. “Naisip ko po ito noong pandemic. Marami pong nawawala na biglaan. Today, you’re very healthy, the next day, may ubo ka na, and then namamatay ka na lang bigla.” She shared the idea with a lot of friends who instantly showed support for and saw potential in her planned project. Aside from Ogie, Marissa revealed that it was veteran entertainment reporter Aster Amoyo who pushed her to start right away and avoid procrastinating on the idea.
“Little by little, through the help of friends and supporters, I was able to publish a book,” Marissa happily said. She carefully worked on the content at the height of the pandemic. “Pinag-isipan ko nang husto because I don’t want to be ridiculed. I don’t want to be morbid. So, I made it light,” Marissa shared.
“Tingin ko, matanda at bata, they should have it because life is uncertain. Minsan puwedeng mauna pa ako sa cancer patient. You can never tell,” Marissa said. “I think my target market includes cancer patients, old people, pero sana lahat. Even my daughter, she’s writing on the slambook.”
With a slambook format, users get to fill out pages with prompts about life. While the book is about death, it seems to serve the purpose of celebrating life and honoring a person’s desires and preferences.
The slambook bearing fun designs is available via Lazada or Shopee.
