Two years after the wedding, she became a widow. She was 20 years old then. At the doctor’s urging, she started writing poems

Halina Myga, because this is her maiden name, was only 9 years old when the Soviet army appeared in her native Częstochowa. Then she and her relatives hid in a cold basement for several days, which resulted in angina, and then arthritis and endocarditis. As a result, she developed a serious heart disease that marked her entire life and, later, her work. Aware that her days were numbered, she wanted to make the most of them, even though her loved ones trembled with fear for her every next step. – She didn’t want a life in a chair, she didn’t want an idle life. She wanted to live – her mother Stanisława.

They met in a sanatorium and a few months later they got married. The death of her husband began Poświatowska’s poetic path

Due to her illness, hospitals and sanatoriums quickly became her second home. During her stay at a resort in Kudowa, Halina, then 18, met Adolf Poświatowski, a student of the Łódź film school, who was 5 years older than her, and fell in love with her. They were united not only by their love of art and illness, but also by difficult experiences, as the man lost his mother during the war and, together with his sister, was raised by relatives. He asked her to help him make his directorial debut, and she agreed without a second thought.

When they left the facility a few weeks later, they decided to continue their relationship. They corresponded regularly and their feelings grew stronger. They met again in the fall of the same year, and a few months later Poświatowski asked her to marry him. She was happy, although her relatives did not share this joy and advised her not to get married. – Separately you may have a chance, together not – they explained, but she did not heed the warnings and in 1954 she married her beloved.

However, the couple’s happiness did not last long. In March 1956, Poświatowski died during his stay in Kraków, where he had gone to obtain the last materials needed to complete his diploma thesis. At that time, Halina was in a sanatorium in Rabka, and her mother, who came to visit, informed her that she had become a widow at the age of 20. Death was a huge blow to her. It was then that the professor under her supervision suggested that she put her emotions on paper. He even brought her to the hospital, whose works she was fond of. Inspired by her words, Halina began to write, and it is from this period that some of her most moving songs come from.

What did Halina Poświatowska die from? The operation, which was supposed to prolong her life, was not successful

In the end, however, fate smiled on her. She went to the USA, where she underwent pioneering heart surgery, which significantly improved her test results and quality of life. She also started studies overseas and established several passionate relationships, including: with Jerzy Kosiński or one of his lecturers. After returning to her homeland, she started a relationship with a man eight years younger than her, but the stormy relationship ended when she tried to take her own life. – During one of the arguments, Poświatowska swallowed several handfuls of Digitalis tablets. Before she lost consciousness, she said, “Take me to the hospital,” said Kalina Błażejowska, author of the biographical book “Stubborn Heart” devoted to Poświatowska.

She healed a broken heart with the blind writer Ireneusz Morawski, but this relationship did not stand the test of time. However, her despair did not last long, and she sought comfort in the arms of other men, and there were plenty of them at her side. – Haśka was a genius in the art of seduction – recalled her brother Zbigniew Myga. Ultimately, the surgery helped her not, as doctors predicted, for a dozen or so years, but only for a few years. When her condition began to deteriorate, she decided to have an artificial valve inserted. On October 3, 1967, she was put on the operating table and died eight days later. She was 32 years old then.

If you are experiencing difficulties and are thinking about taking your own life or want to help someone at risk of suicide, remember that you can use the free help numbers:

• Support Center for Adults in Mental Crisis: 800-70-2222
• Helpline for Children and Youth: 116 111
• Emotional support phone number for adults: 116 123

Below you will find more information on how to help yourself or others, as well as contacts to organizations helping people in crisis and their loved ones.

If suicidal thoughts or a suicide attempt are life-threatening, for immediate crisis intervention, call the police on 112 or go to the emergency department of your local psychiatric hospital.