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The tragic early death of Swedish DJ Avicii he still causes a stir among his fans around the world. The musician was just 28 years old when he took his own life, in April 2018, and thanks to a new book that will go on sale next month, his followers will be able to learn more details about his end.
Tim – The Offical Biography of Avicci, the artist’s official biography, was written by the award-winning Swedish journalist Måns Mosesson, who was given unique access to the notes he wrote on Tim Bergling – the musician’s real name – as well as interviews with the DJ’s family, friends and colleagues at the music business.
According to the British newspaper The Mirror, the book, whose publication date is January 18, 2022 in English (it is not yet known if or when it will arrive in Uruguay), tells how Avicii faced his substance abuse problems. The musician had his own diary, which accompanied him through his repeated stints of rehabilitation. He wrote his feelings, fears and reflections in the hospital, while fighting against alcohol and drug addiction.
Avicii rose to world fame in 2011, thanks to his song “Levels”, But in 2016 he stopped touring due to his addiction to alcohol and opioids.
By age 22, he had become addicted to prescription painkillers. At that time he had to be rushed to the hospital for pancreatitis, caused by too much alcohol and acne medication.
Doctors told him to stay sober for at least six months and eliminate junk food from his diet. And they warned him that if he ignored it, his stomach would swell again and he would not heal, with the possibility of chronic pain for the rest of his life. At that moment he began to write his diaries.
“I had a hard time accepting not to drink again, although all the doctors strongly suggested that I wait at least a year before having a beer,” wrote the DJ. “Of course, I didn’t listen to most of the doctors, but to the couple saying it was okay if I was careful. He was ignorant and naive and he was touring the world, still on the endless tour, because once you turned around once, guess what? You start over. Those days in the hospital were the most anxiety and stress-free I can remember in the last six years, those were my real vacations, as depressing as it sounds, “he added.
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“The relief of going from extreme pain to none, knowing that no one expects anything other than you wait (which is the only way to treat pancreatitis) and then recover, was enormous. It was an extreme relief considering the crazy schedule that he had maintained until that moment, “he detailed in another entry in his diary.
In 2018, Avicii traveled to Oman with a friend. He wanted to start meditation and was following the teachings of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who believed that a person would stop suffering if he reached the deepest state of consciousness. Instead of the suggested 20 minutes, I would meditate for hours.
“I feel like I’m in a new default mode that is very new and kind of scary. I felt that the fears of the last days were wreaking havoc on me, but I remember the advice to focus on my breathing, ”he wrote in those days.
A traveling companion, concerned about the musician’s meditation practices, contacted the father, Klas Bergling. He said that Avicii cried and did not speak, he refused to eat and sat outside in the scorching heat. The same colleague had the task of informing him, days later, that the 28-year-old had taken his own life.
In one of the last notes he wrote in his diary, Avicii left the phrase: “The detachment of the soul is the last attachment, before it restarts.”
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