My second meeting in Haifa took place at Hadar’s apartment. She is a nice woman in her 30s with hearing impairment, who has been bulimic for 14 years. An educated girl who works hard for a living and helps the hearing impaired communicate with the world.
When I called Hadar about two weeks ago to schedule the meeting, she told me that she was just leaving the apartment where she had lived for the past 10 years. “You must see the house before I leave it,” she told me on the phone. “Can you take pictures for me?” I asked, and she agreed.
Hadar’s new apartment is tidy and minimalist, sparkling almost to the point of sterility, and very bright. There are good energies. She makes me coffee, and we sit down to talk in the living room.

She lost her mother when she was 15 and her father a few years later, never really allowing herself to mourn. Despite coming from a large family, she is lonely in the world. Her siblings have cut off contact with her. She cries. The loneliness is sad.

Hadar is very aware of her situation; the large library in the living room is full of books, many of them related to her mental state and illness. Awareness is a huge advantage on the way to healing, but unfortunately, it is not enough. Recently, she tried an innovative treatment with an alternative therapist in Jerusalem; it helped a bit, but she is still struggling. Alone.

The clean and orderly house lacks life. I remember the apartment where I lived alone in Tel Aviv, how many secrets I had in that apartment, how much sadness and loneliness I experienced there,