“Vulnerable”: the possibility of being nicked. Interview with Alberto Ferretto

Vulnerable
is the title of Alberto Ferretto‘s “unwanted project,” an unconventional, out-of-the-box book about its author’s (and publisher’s) traumatic experience, overcome through running. Alberto did not stop at that. He sought out, met and got to know 12 other people who, like him, experienced trauma and came out of it precisely because of running. Vulnerable is a journey through mountain trails and inner journeys, made of courage, a desire for rebirth and the power of sharing.

We asked Alberto a few questions to dig even deeper into this project and go over some of its steps together, from the initial idea to the final realization.

The title, Vulnerable, is a strong word, often used with a negative meaning, as a synonym for fragility or weakness. Tell us why you made this choice and what it means to you instead.

As far as I am concerned, vulnerable means having the possibility of being nicked in some way. It should not be misunderstood as a weakness or even think that being vulnerable means being weak or fragile. It seemed to me the most correct term to identify a little bit of everyone as one of the characteristics that can unite us all. I held this vision in the hospital, but also by looking for a word that united us all when, between 2015 and 2019, I made very long trips to those places in the world that are less developed and have incredible population density. When you go from my small town in the country to the city where the density is so high you have a crazy overhang, and one of the things that came to my mind was just whether there is something that unites us all instead. And this thing then came back when I had the accident. Vulnerable because in my opinion vulnerability is what ultimately embraces us all and what life sooner or later gives us a way to experience.

So you’ve found the answer to the question you ask in the book as well. If there is anything that unites us all, therefore, it is this.

Yes, one of the things. Then there are others, but one of the things is definitely this.

Instead, the subtitle, “The Unintended Project of Alberto Ferretto”: unintended because it arose from a traumatic event or because it was inevitable and you couldn’t help but realize it?

“Unwanted” because I would have done without it, very gladly. In the end it was an incredible, beautiful path and not even heavy from a certain point of view, because I was doing it with a definite will and a very pleasant self-awareness. I had no constraints and no employer giving me this input. I would go and do. I could, absurdly and as I also risked doing, delete everything. And there were times when I didn’t want to publish these things anymore. It was a project that, if my accident had not happened, 99 percent of me would never have done because it was a one-time path. I am often asked: will there be a sequel? This is a bit of a quibble because it is too unique a route to repeat.

Vulnerable is a textural book, which also engages the sense of touch as well as the sense of sight and imposes interactive reading. It almost seems like you wanted to put the reader in an uncomfortable situation at times. In some passages you have to rotate the book in order to read its contents. How come?

It is a deliberate choice, conditioned by two main reasons. The first is an intersection of my own work and passion path related to the visual arts, so in my opinion when you communicate you don’t communicate with just one element, but with many elements. Whether it is the visual one, whether it is an experiential factor, whether it is the sound one. In this case, unfortunately, there is no audio but we still used two or three: the experiential, the visual and the tactile. The second motivation comes from my decision to self-publish the book, a choice also due to its hybrid character. I don’t see many books with this approach. I think it is also a commercial reason: publishers tend to take fewer risks than standard literature cages. So the packaging was chosen. I was also allowed to do it because I had a budget tied to a sponsor, the company Meccanica Gasparotto, which, thanks to Sabrina, who is very sensitive to these issues, sponsored my first printing. I decided to do something that was not unique, but still a bit out of the box, also in relation to the cover price, which is very advantageous compared to the book’s features.

In this regard, there are many pictures in the book, which also often tell the daily life moments of its protagonists. Is it always a choice related to this mixing of the arts that you experience?

Yes. The idea was not to make a book too long-winded. I come from photography, having been a professional photographer for 7 years, and I think the photographic input is much stronger and more summarizing than the written pages. I understand that people who are used to reading read more willingly than looking at pictures. With writing you are able to create many more images in readers’ heads than those evoked by a video or photo. However, in my case, for each image I would have had to explain so many things, and I wanted instead to focus on the core of the speech, leaving the rest to the images. So there is this photo-text combination, which from the feedback received seems to be appreciated. It’s 216 pages, which still isn’t a few, and to get to over 300 by taking out the pictures and losing some of the humanity, I mean… I wasn’t convinced. I preferred it that way.

The first chapter is autobiographical and tells your story, but much of the book is devoted to telling 12 other stories. How did you choose these 12 co-stars?

Let’s say I didn’t choose them, because I went looking for them. I also relied a bit on chance. I sought advice from some acquaintances who I thought were a little more sensitive to the topic. They gave me names and I contacted them. They should have had two common characteristics: trauma and running as rebirth. I did not delve into it with two people who were experiencing the trauma at the time, because it did not feel right, and maybe it was not even easy to approach as a situation. I also write that the project is yes “unintended,” but also “unfinished” because I could have continued indefinitely, potentially. But at some point I was done.

Why does the ending open instead to a message outside the race?

One of the latest titles is “Stop Running!” A “just run and it all goes away,” but also a peremptory “just run,” which is then the more in-depth view in the chapter. It is a provocation. Running has been and currently is for me, and for these 12 subjects, something extra, dreaming, building gradually and daily. I realize, though, that the planet is rich and full of cues to fall in love with something else. It is not meant to be a book for running nerds, in fact very little is said about running in terms of times and rankings. We talk about passion toward something, but passion can come in many other forms, and each of us has to find it, because when you find a really strong passion you start to build something that goes beyond that. Any passion has very high points but also very low curves. Every sport and every activity has them. Passion, in addition to making you fall in love, also teaches you how to stay on your feet.

One of the turning points in your life was sharing a photo after the accident on social media. How important do you think sharing is, even of low moments?

Now this thing of sharing low moments is being cleared quite a bit, compared to a few years ago. Perhaps from the covid onward there is a lot of propensity to publish content related to the “lowest peak.” As far as I am concerned, sharing is everything. From a personal point of view, to share things everyone has to find his or her own degree. Whether it is sharing it with one’s partner or with one’s mate, or sharing it with parents rather than with friends: it lies at the base. Otherwise, either we have the wrong people or we have to learn ourselves how to build sharing, because it is just so fundamental. As for sharing on social media, you have to feel it. I think it can be preparatory if it does not become an outlet for its own sake. It has to be aimed at something. Publishing a post because I want to get attention cannot become the habit. The habit must be sharing with loved ones. Then there is the time when we also share on social media, yes, but it needs to be done more gradually and thoughtfully. However, sharing, as a word and as a vision, is crucial.

Last question. What is the goal of this project and what, on the other hand, is the greatest wish you can make (or wish for) it?

The project, as far as I am concerned, has already won. I never expected to receive so much positive feedback. Not so much for the packaging of the book, for which I had a fairly high percentage of certainty that it was okay, because the covers on average are glossy, glossy, with very poor paper. So on the packaging I knew there was a good margin. On content no. I am not a writer, I have not done certain studies of narrative construction. I had a big doubt there, and that’s really one of the reasons I didn’t want to let him out at one point. I’m not saying I made a book that ranked well in the charts, but for what the message was, I feel it did well. And so for me he has already won. I have voluntarily excluded myself from the discussion regarding publishers, so I do not expect to make an incredible print run. I hope to finish the 600 copies (second reprint after the 900 already distributed) that I have yet to sort through [ride]. As for the message, however, it is related to the rebirth of people. If even a handful of people were to get off the couch and get out of the gray zone they are experiencing, which is what I have also experienced, that is perfectly fine with me. Otherwise it is done. It’s something that also served as a therapeutic journal for me in the beginning, so now any other milestone is all earned.

Surely it can also serve as a positive cue for those who are not in the gray zone but just need a little push to take charge of their lives. Kudos for courage, and perhaps that is the power of sharing.

Is there anything else you want to add or that we haven’t touched on as a topic?

Yes. The last little thing I would like to add, which is then not a “little thing,” is to emphasize that all proceeds from the book go to the Italian Red Cross – Vicenza OdV Committee. The book came out in December 2023, and with that month alone I (we) was bought a lung ventilator to put inside an ambulance. An additional amount will be donated at the end of 2024 to purchase more instrumentation.

Alberto’s is a story of courage, reminding us of the enormous power of sharing and the importance of never giving up, despite everything.

In addition to him, here are the other 12 protagonists of this journey: Yulia Baykova, Andrea Prandi, Alessandra Fior, Ivan Angiolini, Andrea Lanfri, Michele Pasquazzo, Francesco Lorenzi, Petranca Stefano, Valentina Scarponi, Enrico Maggiola, Marco Menegardi, and Casimiro Sciscione.