A SILENCED VOICE

The parents of a Swedish freelance journalist who was killed in the line of duty pay tribute to their daughter.

Though some of this plainspoken memoir reads like a murder mystery, the authors have taken great pains to ensure that Kim Wall (1987-2017) isn’t remembered as merely a victim. Alternating with chapters documenting the benumbed horror of discovering the circumstances of their daughter’s death and dismemberment are the memories of her life, career, and accomplishments—of which there were many, as she packed a lifetime’s worth of experience into her 30 years. After committing herself to her parents’ profession of journalism following her education at the London School of Economics and Columbia University, where she won a Foreign Press Association award, Wall had been published in the New York Times, Harper’s, and the Atlantic, among other outlets. Her stories took her all over the globe, from India to North Korea to Africa to Cuba. She was about to embark on a new adventure when she arranged for one last interview feature close to home: aboard the self-built submarine of Danish inventor Peter Madsen, who soon planned to launch a rocket into space. Details remain murky, but there was apparently an equipment malfunction on the sub. Wall “may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning,” and Madsen may have found it easier to dispose of the body in parts. As he apparently told the forensic psychiatrist before his trial, “I don’t want any corpses on my submarine. What do you do if you have a big problem? You divide it into smaller ones, of course.” He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Her legacy, diligently extended by her dedicated parents, now includes a fund in her name, with an annual award to a promising young female journalist.

A tragically short life that will hopefully serve as inspiration.