Third Book, Titik Nol (Point Zero) is Coming

Faraway. Why everybody is obsessed by that word? Marco Polo traveled faraway from Venice to the Mongolian Empire. The explorers adventured through dangerous seven seas. The climbers put their life on the line just for a few moments conquering majestic peaks.

He was also overwhelmed by the “faraway”. The Traveler decided to get involved in globetrotting journey. He sneaked to the forbidden land in Himalaya, staying in mysterious Kashmir, and became witness of warzones and massacres. Started by a dream, flowing like a series of dreams, this is a journey of a traveler searching for a meaning.

Until to the point that he had traveled very, very far, he was forced to return home, kneel down besides his mother’s bed. And from the story of the very mother who has never traveled anywhere, little by little he revealed the meanings of journey that he was missing.

Paperback, 568 pages
Published February 2013 by Gramedia Pustaka Utama
ISBN: 9789792292718
edition language: Indonesian

For the details of this book, please visit : http://agustinuswibowo.com/TitikNol

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My third book, Titik Nol, is being released in Indonesia. This book is so special for me. It takes me more than 2 years to finish this book, with more than 20 times of rewriting and 60 times of editing.  The release date is also special: Mom’s birthday.

Titik Nol is a story of a globetrotting son who recount his story of faraway places to a dying mother, who has never been anywhere. This is a memory and contemplation of the beautiful, as well sad, moments between my mother and I.

As a Chinese philosopher said, “No one realizes the beauty of his travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.”

I have left home for more than a decade, and had been wandering on the road for 4 years continuously. After a long journey, at home what we have to face is reality. Beside my dying mom, by exchanging stories of my journey and her life journey, I started to collect the fragments of Mom. I thought she was the closest person in my life, the one whom I knew completely. But after those conversations, I realized that I knew almost nothing about Mom. Even though I was blessed when finally she still gave me chance to know her, her death was the biggest attack in my life.

Days, weeks, months I was overwhelmed by guilt. Writing my third book, which was about conversation with mom during her last days, was the most difficult thing I had done in my life until today, but also the most relieving thing. After finishing the book, it seems that tons of burdens on my shoulders suddenly were removed, and I realized that everybody was created for his or her own cause. I might not be able to be aside of her all the time, or gave her a luxurious house and wealth, but there are many other kinds of happiness that can’t be valued by money.

Another drama.

On the very same day this book went to print (16 January 2013), my father passed away.

Two deaths in a row. Two disasters in a row. Somehow they taught me a very precious lesson, disaster is not the end. Disaster is actually the start of a new beginning.

Journey is so magical. We all start from zero, we would attempt our best to be a hero in our life, but there is always the time that we would be forced to go back to zero. From zero, to hero, back to zero. It’s a perfect circle. Just like the number ‘0’, there is no corner, there is not even a start and an end.

Every story, every journey, every struggle, every dream, every power, everything has an end. And while we still have the opportunity, let’s make our stories meaningful.