Afterword · To All My Loved Ones
When I began this book, I thought I was simply going to tell my own story. Today, I understand that it was never mine alone. No life is written by one person. We are shaped by those who love us, help us, place their trust in us, and sometimes put us to the test.
That is why I want to dedicate these final pages to all the people who, each in their own way, wrote a page of my life. First of all, I think of my parents. My father Antonio left the country of his birth and went down into the Belgian mines to give his children a future.
Through her gentleness, simplicity, and devotion, my mother Guglielmina taught me what unconditional love means. Everything they gave me continues to live on within me.
I think of my brothers Remo, Mario, Carmine, and Maurizio. Together we laughed, suffered, and knew differences, but we also built memories no one can take from us. Mario, who left us too soon, remains one of the warmest and kindest people I have ever known. And I think of my little sister Lidiola. Her life was brief, but her name and her place have always remained within our family.
My deepest gratitude goes to Dorina. Together, we have traveled through almost an entire lifetime. We built a family. We built a family, knew beautiful years, and carried together what was almost impossible to carry. We did not always experience grief in the same way, nor did we always find the same words.
Even so, we remain connected by a history no one can take from us. Thank you, Dorina, for our two sons and for everything we have built and carried together.
Marco, there are no words that can fully describe what you have meant to me. You were my son, my friend, my colleague, my travelling companion, and my confidant. We worked, dreamed, travelled, argued, and laughed.
I want people to know not only how your life ended, but above all who you were: a curious boy, a proud father, and a man who kept believing in new possibilities. Death ended your life, but not my love for you.
Michael, you too have a unique and irreplaceable place in my heart. You never had to be like your brother or follow my path. You chose your own life, found your place in aviation, and became the father of Helena and Andreas. In recent years, our bond has grown deeper and more sincere.
Thank you for our conversations, for your closeness, and for the new memories we are making together. I am proud of the man and father you have become.
To Tina, the mother of Chiara and Laura, and to everyone who helped bring warmth and connection back into our family after difficult years: you, too, belong to this story. Life does not always follow the path we ourselves would have chosen. Sometimes reconciliation arises only when we learn to look without denying the past.
My love goes out to my four grandchildren: Chiara, Laura, Helena, and Andreas. Each of you has a place of your own in my heart. You do not have to relive the dreams of a previous generation. Make your own choices, mistakes, and dreams. I only hope that, between these words, you will feel how much love and how many sacrifices came before your own story.
When we come together as a family, Marco’s name does not have to be left unspoken. We may tell stories, laugh about him, and miss him. In this way, remembering is not only sorrow. It also becomes warmth, connection, and a quiet way of keeping someone with us.
A special thank-you goes to Cristina. You were a dear friend to Marco and later became a daughter of the heart to me. Even after he had left us, you remained present and continued to cherish his memory with love. For that, I will always be grateful to you.
A special word of thanks to Stefano Regnini
A very special and sincere word of thanks goes to Stefano Regnini. With his honest eye, his commitment and his valuable advice, he helped me shape the long version into a more balanced, clearer and more powerful book.
Stefano had the courage to tell me respectfully where the story had become too long, where repetition weakened its force and where its heart deserved more room. Thanks to his advice, the foreword, Marco’s story and the attention given to depression, bipolar disorder and suicide prevention could be developed in an even stronger and more humane way.
Without his advice, this version would not have become what it is today. I therefore thank him not only as an attentive reader, but also as someone who, through his sincere involvement, helped give this book its present, balanced form. Grazie di cuore, Stefano.
A Mother to Everyone
Rosina Rizzuti (1938–2026)—like a second mamma to me.
A special word of thanks to the Braile family
Shortly before this edition was completed, we had to say goodbye to Rosina Rizzuti, who died at the age of 88. Rosina was like a second mamma to me. Her warmth, care and presence left a deep mark on my life.
To her children Concetta, Franco, Luigi, Santo, Giovanna, Eleonora, Catia and Roberto: I consider you brothers and sisters of the heart. Your sorrow touches me too. I share your sense of loss and, together with you, will carry Rosina in my heart forever.
Thanks to François and my everyday friends
My sincere thanks also go to François Didden. His friendship, attention and support have meant a great deal to me. Although his photograph could not be included in this edition, his name fully deserves its place here, with warmth and affection.
I would also like to give special thanks to my everyday friends: Claudio from Naples, Kosta from Greece, José from Spain and Corinto. Our coffee, conversations and walks bring colour to my days. Different countries and life stories brought us together; true friendship knows no borders.
I think of my Aunt Ida, Medardo Maseroli, Jules and Alphonsine, Kevin Umé, Louis Ouwerkerk, and Alberto Pastorelli. At a decisive moment, each of them gave me trust, friendship, or an opportunity. I also think of Davide, Lutgart, Agostino, Gilbert, Maria, Jimmy, Vittorina, Giulia, Massimo, Ludo, and Tony. Behind every name lives a story I keep in my heart.
And there are so many others: relatives, friends, colleagues, employees, customers, suppliers, neighbours, people from the De Lindeman mining community, and people I met on my travels. Some stayed for years; others were part of my life for only a short time. Even a brief encounter, however, can leave a mark. If I have not mentioned someone by name, it never means that person was less important.
Over the course of a long life, every human being makes mistakes. So have I. Perhaps I did not always listen enough, worked too much, trusted too easily, or said too little about how much someone meant to me. If I hurt anyone, knowingly or unknowingly, I sincerely ask for forgiveness. Not because I have ever been perfect, but because I have always tried to live honestly.
I also want to thank you, the reader. You have followed me along roads stretching back almost eighty years. Perhaps some pages made you think of your own father or mother, a child, a friend, or someone you miss. If my memories touched yours for a moment, this book has achieved something greater than my story alone.
A life does not become special because of what a person owns or how much they achieve. It becomes special because of the people with whom one has been privileged to share it. Without all these people, my story would have been different. Without my parents, there would have been no beginning. Without Dorina, no family.
Without Marco and Michael, not the same love or the same lessons. Without my grandchildren, not the same hope. Without my brothers, family, and friends, not the same roots or the same memories.
That is why, in the end, this book could have only one title: MY LIFE - IN THE NAME OF ALL MY LOVED ONES. It bears my name, but it also belongs a little to everyone who shared part of their life with mine. That is why I place this final page in your hands, with humility, gratitude, and above all with love. In the name of all my loved ones.
MY LIFE
IN THE NAME OF ALL MY LOVED ONES
Renato Rossi
Renato Rossi was born on 5 June 1948 in Loreto Aprutino and came to the De Lindeman mining estate in Heusden-Zolder with his family as a baby. He grew up in a mining family and built a life in which family, coffee, ceramics, entrepreneurship, innovation and the search for meaning were continually intertwined.
In this edition, he tells in forty-four chapters about his roots, Dorina, his sons Marco and Michael, his grandchildren, the people who shaped him, the dreams he realised and the loss that changed everything.
This book bears his name, but it belongs to all those who wrote a page of his life - to all my loved ones.
“Everything you do for someone else, you do for yourself.”