Matthijs, the husband of Eva Hermans-Kroot from Tilburg, who died of lung cancer at the age of 26, has written a book about the loss of his great love. Eva became known through the program Over mijn Corps and had many followers on her Instagram page Longeneeslijk. She took her followers through her disease process until her death last November. Matthijs now takes her followers through his grieving process. “Emotional, but also very nice,” he calls the writing.
The widower’s book is called Unforgettable: A Year Later and is about Eva, the loss and the pleasant memories Matthijs had with her. “It has been almost a year since my dear Eva passed away. A year in which a lot has happened, but it still feels as if time has stood still,” he writes on Instagram.
“Writing was emotional, but also nice.”
If Eva has given him anything, it is living in the moment. That is why Matthijs wrote the book. It also helped him process his grief. “Writing was emotional for me but also very nice. I hope you will like it,” he says to the followers of the Pulmonary page.
Eva was first seen in the TV program Over Mijn Lijk when she was 22 years old. Against all odds, she lived with the disease for more than three years.
On her deathbed she said in the program: “I didn’t want to die, and I still don’t really want to.” Eva felt mentally strong until the end, but her body didn’t want to anymore. She found that inner conflict the most difficult. “I want to live so badly, and even now I’m not done with it.”
She took her followers through her disease process and inspired millions of people with it. She published a book about her disease process, which reached first place on the bestseller list. Last May, on her birthday, a memorial plaque with her name was unveiled in her hometown of Tilburg.
“I believe I’ll come back as a butterfly.”
The book that her husband Matthijs writes is also a tangible reminder of who Eva was as a person. She has not lost her battle with cancer, she often said. “I would hate it if people said that about me,” she said a few weeks before her death. “I think I’ll come back as a butterfly, but then I’ll come back as a pigeon and poop on you.”
The 26-year-old didn’t feel like a loser. “I am also happy with what I have experienced in recent years, also due to my illness. I have really learned that you have to live in the now, I cannot say that often enough. You are a better person if you live in the now,” she told her followers.
