Christine Dawood On Grief, Walking & Surviving The Titan Tragedy

The author of Ninety-Six Hours, Christine Dawood, tells Charlotte Metcalf why she gave up her seat on the doomed Titan submersible — and how she’s turning unimaginable loss into purpose.

Interview: Christine Dawood

Christine Dawood’s story, though unforgettable, might have receded into the background had it not been for her decision to write Ninety-Six Hours, a minute-by-minute account of her time waiting for news of her husband and son aboard the Titan submersible, which imploded in 2023 on a dive to explore Titanic. All Dawood knew was that Titan only contained enough oxygen for 96 hours.

Like any story with a known, dreaded ending, it’s a harrowing read, but softened – and all the more engaging – for its vignettes of family life. Yet no conventional publisher supported the book. ‘They said no one would be interested,’ Dawood tells me. ‘But it turned out for the best. By self-publishing I’ve kept control over how I represent my voice and those of my husband and son.’

Dawood met Shahzada in 2000, when they were both studying at university in Germany. ‘I was smitten,’ she laughed. They married, had a son and daughter, and moved to Lahore for a few happy years before settling in Surrey.

It was Dawood who came across a newspaper ad inviting people to join Titan. ‘Shahzada wasn’t even specifically interested in Titanic but I knew his appetite for doing unusual things.’ After they signed up, their son, Suleman, was so excited by the idea, Dawood gave up her place but went along, with his sister, to be on the ship cheering them on.

I tell her I thought Titan looked more like a toy than a robust piece of engineering. ‘Though adventurous, we never liked leaving our comfort zone. We loved to learn but always took a good guide who knew how to handle any situation. Yes, Titan was small, but there was so much expertise around it – they were diving with the CEO of OceanGate who built it, Stockton Rush, and the naval explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who’d done 37 dives already. What could possibly go wrong?’

The dive begins and then Dawood puts the reader firmly in her shoes as Titan loses contact. I ask her how she kept her daughter calm but she prefers we don’t speak about her, to prevent her from being defined by the story.

When the time finally came to leave the ship, Dawood describes how supportive and loving Shahzada’s family was and continues to be. ‘Knowing they had flown to be with me when I disembarked enabled me to keep going,’ she says. ‘It wasn’t easy facing people. One person told me, “I’ve never lost somebody but I did lose a dog so I know what you’re going through,” and I thought, “No, you really don’t!” It’s better admitting you don’t know what to say than to come out with Hallmark platitudes. The most helpful thing was when someone just squeezed my hand, and said nothing. Because what is there to say?’

I ask what made her start writing. ‘Any grief counsellor would advise you to keep a journal and mine did. It was quite cathartic at first. I walk a lot, so I’d just pour my feelings into my phone. I interwove the family memories so readers would know the humans behind the story rather than just see us as victims.’ The book describes her 400-mile walk to raise money for The Suleman and Shahzada Dawood Foundation. ‘Walking was mine and Suleman’s thing,’ she smiles. ‘He was at university in Glasgow and was planning to walk home from there. So, on the second anniversary of their deaths I decided to walk to Glasgow and raise money to set up a centre for trauma, loss and grief.’

‘I’d looked for a safe haven when I was grieving but couldn’t find one anywhere in Britain. We’re herd animals and need people and companionship to heal. I’m creating somewhere where you can just be, and be looked after.’ Dawood has identified three beautiful potential properties on Dartmoor. ‘I needed this purpose. I have a lot of angels in my life who have helped me. It’s time to give back.’

All proceeds from Ninety-Six Hours: A Wife and Mother’s Desperate Search for the Lost Titan Sub (published on 12 May) go to Dawood’s foundation. pathwayoflight.co.uk

Christine Dawood In Brief

• Book that’s influenced you most: Becoming by Michelle Obama.
• Book that’s helped you the most: Krankheit als Weg (Illness as a Path) by Rüdiger Dahlke.
• Where you’re most at peace: Walking barefoot on moss in a Bavarian mountain forest.
• Last play you enjoyed: Wicked, one of my favourite musicals.
• Favourite painting: Dalí’s Persistence of Memory, with those melting clocks.
• An artwork that has moved you: The Inner Child, by Ukrainian Alex Milov. It was at Burning Man and perfectly shows how children connect when adults can’t.