ABSTRACT
The chapter discusses the phenomenon of extended and unresolved mourning, endured by families who have lost their loved ones and are unable to find their bodily remains. This experience, so prevalent in the Balkans, is often accompanied with the feelings of “toxic hope.” By investing all emotional resources into desires for the return of lost individuals, toxic hope limits personal agency and growth. Inspired by the Liberation Theology, the links between individual and collective liberation from harmful memories of pain and violence are discussed. The theological grounds for this liberation are found in the events of Exodus and the Holy Saturday. In both of them, the experiences of extended waiting are linked with the eschatological, salvific hope.
