Source: Radio New Zealand (world)
Psychologist Christine Dawood tells of moving through absolute devastation to find a new purpose in the memoir 96 Hours.
On 18 June 2023, Christine Dawood’s 48-year-old husband and 19-year-old son smiled at her as they were transported to the Titan submersible set to carry them on a 4km downward journey to dive in the wreckage of the Titanic.
Four days later, she was informed there had been a “catastrophic event”, and the submersible had imploded. Her husband, Shazhana and their son Suleman, along with three other passengers, had died. “I was so numb and everything was a blur.
Thinking back, everything is like a black hole.
There was just so much pain that it was difficult to remember anything really, and yet I had a lot of people around me who I will be forever grateful for,” Dawood tells Saturday Morning.
Suleman and Shazhana DawoodHandout / Dawood Hercules Corporation / AFP Suleman and Shazhana Dawood Handout / Dawood Hercules Corporation / AFP Christine Dawood: Life after the Titan tragedy For the Titanic dive trip, the Dawood family had travelled 643km from Canada to Titanic waters on a ship called the Polar Prince.
When communications with the Titan submersible and a rescue mission were launched, this information was delivered “so flippantly” by its crew that Dawood at first didn’t realise how serious things were. Even when the Titan was officially declared missing, it felt like a gut punch to her, yet the crew of the Polar Prince remained calm, she says.
This undated image courtesy of OceanGate Expeditions, shows their Titan submersible beginning a descent.AFP / OceanGate Expeditions This undated image courtesy of OceanGate Expeditions, shows their Titan submersible beginning a descent. AFP / OceanGate Expeditions The Titan only had an estimated 96 hours’ worth of oxygen on board.
To abate the fear that her husband and son were “slowly suffocating” and to try and keep a clear head, Dawood did breathing exercises and mindfulness meditations.
Four days later came the “absolutely devastating” news that the Titan had imploded and all five passengers were dead. “The coast guard told us that a catastrophic event happened – needless to say, that these are my two most hated words now. “It was awful.
It was terrible… I went into a very dark place and tried to compartmentalise, but it didn’t quite work.” Titan submersible passengers (L-R, top to bottom) Hamish Harding, Stockton Rush, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Suleman Dawood and his father Shahzada Dawood.Handout, Joël SAGET / AFP / Dirty Dozen Productions / OceanGate Expeditions / DAWOOD HERCULES CORPORATION Titan submersible passengers (L-R, top to bottom) Hamish Harding, Stockton Rush, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Suleman Dawood and his father Shahzada Dawood.
Handout, Joël SAGET / AFP / Dirty Dozen Productions / OceanGate Expeditions / DAWOOD HERCULES CORPORATION Disembarking the Polar Prince in Newfoundland the next day was extremely hard, Dawood says. “I was so numb, and everything was a blur.
Thinking back, everything is like a black hole.
There was just so much pain that it was difficult to remember anything really, and yet I had a lot of people around me who really supported us and I will be forever grateful for that.
Returning home to Surrey, where she lives with her 20-year-old daughter, Dawood says her whole body was tense and it was difficult to breathe. “I felt like I was suffocating, obviously it has to do with how they died.” Christine Dawood in the 2025 documentary Implosion: The Titan Sub Disaster.YouTube screenshot Christine Dawood in the 2025 documentary Implosion: The Titan Sub Disaster.
On the advice of a therapist, she began journaling, writing down all of her emotions and thoughts for what would eventually become 96 Days.
While the writing was very cathartic at first, the editing phase of the book, when she had to relive the trauma over and over again, was extremely painful, Dawood says. “But in a way it also helped me because, yeah, it was like my very own exposure therapy.” Losing two people redefines your whole being and identity, she says, and it takes a long time to redirect your thoughts to what you still can do.
In the names of Shahzada and Suleman and with them in her heart, Dawood is now working to build a healing centre for other people who’ve experienced trauma and loss. “It’s not easy to get through a major loss alone… I just want to create a safe haven for people to arrive and be able to breathe again.” While she misses her husband and son, Dawood says she can now smile when she looks at pictures of them and focus on the positive memories, laughter and even how much they “bugged” her. “I can remember them as humans.
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