Man Recreates Heartbreaking Photos Of His Late Wife With Daughter
OMG. All the tissues. All of them.
shutterupeire / Shutterstock The human spirit can be a remarkable thing. It's truly amazing how tragedy can sometimes lead to incredible beauty and strength.
In 2013, Rafael Del Col's wife, Tatiane Valques, died in a horrible car accident. But as much as he wanted and needed to grieve, he also needed to be strong for his daughter, Raisa.
So, in 2015, as a way to honor his deceased wife, he recreated photos of her, but with their daughter.
He and Raisa did a photoshoot together where they took photos that copied the ones he had taken with his wife before they got married in 2009.
Del Col wanted to do the shoot after finding out about a man who had done the same thing after losing his wife to cancer.
Raisa, who was 3 at the time of the shoot, wore clothes and jewelry that were similar to her mother's. Then, she and Del Col recreated all the same poses that he had done with his wife.
Their dog, who was also in the original photos with Del Col and Valques, appeared in the shoot as well. Raisa even recreated a photo just of herself to mimic the one taken of her late mother, in which she wore the same outfit and jewelry.
Del Col had started a blog after his wife passed in the hopes of supporting other people who were going through the same kind of tragedy that his family was.
On the blog, he wrote, "Shortly after I lost my wife, I was seeking help regarding early widowhood and also paternity without the presence of the mother and found almost nothing. Now, thank God, things are adjusting slowly, my daughter is well, and is growing, developing normally. But beside my responsibilities with my princess, I need to deal with feelings of grief, and the loss of my partner with whom I lived for 10 wonderful years."
His blog received thousands of views in just a number of days and Del Col also amassed a fairly large social media following. He was also able to find love again with Magrelinha, who he has described as a, "beautiful girlfriend... sent from God".
Though his wife is gone, her memory will live on forever in their daughter, and anyone can see from the photos the immense joy that Del Col gets from his daughter and seeing the world through her eyes.
Life isn't easy for those who have had incredible tragedy and pain in their lives, but art and creativity can help, as evidenced by this photoshoot with Del Col and his daughter.
As you look at the photos, you will go through a variety of emotions: from smiling at the curiosity of the daughter to seeing the beautiful young mother who lost her life in her prime. It's a photoshoot that's both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.
The love of the Del Col family will live on forever.
Christine Schoenwald is a writer and performer. She's had articles in The Los Angeles Times, Salon, and Woman's Day. Visit her website or and her Instagram.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on May 2016 and was updated with the latest information.