“THERE WERE 48 YEARS OF SHAHZADA” — TITAN WIDOW SAYS HER HUSBAND AND SON WERE MORE THAN THE HEADLINES

Nearly three years after the Titan submersible disaster took the lives of her husband and teenage son, Christine Dawood is asking the world to remember them as more than two names connected to a tragedy.

Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son, Suleman, died on June 18, 2023, when the Titan submersible imploded during a dive toward the wreck of the Titanic.

For Christine, however, their story did not begin with Titan — and it should not end there.

“There were 48 years of Shahzada before he passed away,” she told PEOPLE in a new interview.

Now 51, Christine has written a memoir, Ninety-Six Hours, describing the terrifying four days she spent aboard the support vessel with her daughter, Alina, while the international search for Titan unfolded.

But she says the book is about far more than the disaster.

“It’s a love story, a love letter almost,” Christine said. “There is more to them than the headlines.”

SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ON TITAN

Christine had originally planned to join her husband on the expedition.

Instead, she gave her place to Suleman.

The family had been fascinated by the Titanic for years. In 2012, they visited a Titanic exhibition in Singapore, an experience that left a lasting impression on Suleman.

When the opportunity came to visit the actual wreck, the family decided to take part.

Christine said she felt reassured by those involved in the expedition, including French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

But on the final voyage, it was Shahzada and Suleman who boarded Titan.

Suleman even brought a Rubik’s Cube, hoping to complete it during the journey to the bottom of the Atlantic.

Christine stayed behind with Alina on the support ship.

Neither she nor her daughter would ever see Shahzada and Suleman alive again.

96 HOURS OF WAITING

When contact with Titan was lost, Christine and Alina were suddenly caught in an international search operation.

For four days, they were left with the possibility that Shahzada and Suleman might still be alive somewhere beneath the ocean.

The estimated 96-hour oxygen supply became the centre of the desperate rescue effort.

For Christine, the hardest part was imagining what her husband and son might be experiencing.

Were they frightened?

Were they suffering?

Were they waiting to be rescued?

Those questions stayed with her as rescuers searched the North Atlantic.

Then came the devastating confirmation.

Titan had suffered a catastrophic implosion.

All five people aboard were killed.

For Christine, however, one thought brought a small measure of comfort: she believed they had not suffered.

“I was just grateful they didn’t suffer,” she said. “They were happy one moment, and the next they were gone.”

A FATHER AND SON WITH A SPECIAL BOND

Long before their final journey, Shahzada and Suleman had built a close relationship around their shared interests.

Christine describes Suleman as kind and curious.

His fascination with the Titanic began years earlier and eventually became something he could share with his father.

For Christine, that relationship is one of the memories she wants people to remember.

Not the submarine.

Not the headlines.

But the father and son who loved exploring the world together.

THE LOVE STORY THAT CAME BEFORE THE TRAGEDY

Christine first met Shahzada around 2000 while they were both studying at Reutlingen University in Germany.

She came from Bavaria, while Shahzada was from Pakistan.

They began dating and married in 2002.

The couple later settled in England and raised their two children, Suleman and Alina.

Their family life continued for years away from the international spotlight.

Then, in June 2023, everything changed.

The world came to know the Dawood family because of what happened to them aboard Titan.

Christine now wants people to understand that their lives were much bigger than those final hours.

GRIEF DID NOT END WHEN THE SEARCH ENDED

After the disaster, Christine began recording her thoughts during long walks and writing in journals.

She also undertook a 400-mile trek to Glasgow, where Suleman had attended the University of Strathclyde.

The journey became part of her way of processing the loss.

She says that whenever she is near the ocean, she still says hello to Shahzada and Suleman.

Her grief has not disappeared.

Instead, she has learned to carry it.

“I DON’T LIKE THE PHRASE ‘MOVING ON’”

Christine says she does not like the expression “moving on.”

For her, the goal is to move forward.

That distinction has become central to the next chapter of her life.

She is working toward creating a grief and trauma centre in the United Kingdom called Pathway of Light, supported by a foundation named in honour of Shahzada and Suleman.

The project is intended to help other people facing profound loss.

Christine says that helping others is something she believes her husband and son would have wanted.

THEIR LIVES WERE MORE THAN THE TITAN

The Titan disaster became one of the most closely followed tragedies in the world.

The submarine.

The Titanic wreck.

The five people aboard.

The desperate rescue operation.

And the questions surrounding the expedition all became part of the global conversation.

But for Christine, those headlines represent only the final moments of two lives.

Shahzada was not simply a passenger aboard Titan.

He was her husband.

Suleman was not simply the 19-year-old who died in the submersible.

He was her son.

Their lives included decades of family memories, love, curiosity, laughter and ordinary moments that never made international headlines.

And that is the story Christine wants to preserve.

Because before Shahzada and Suleman became victims of the Titan disaster, they were a husband, a father, a son — and a family who had built a life together.

For Christine, remembering them means remembering all of that, too.