Sliding into 2026…
I’ve been working recently to improve my German language skills. My teacher shared with me that, “Ich wünsche dir einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr” technically means something like, “I wish you a good slide into the New Year.”
And so, as we slide into 2026, I want to share a passage from my Author’s Introduction to Simply Dag.
The Flattened Martyr
The problem with casting Dag as a sexually repressed martyr who would’ve behaved like Caligula were it not for the mores of his time is that it not only slanders Dag, it also flattens his work and his ultimate sacrifice. Dag was totally and unmistakably clear in his speech for This I Believe that, for him, fulfillment of duty and living a life of service was love—something more like agape than romance. To paint a picture of, “Well, Dag would’ve been sleeping around, but you know how uptight people used to be. He just felt like he couldn’t, so that’s why he worked for the UN” is absolutely shameful. And nothing Dag would want or endorse.
An Excerpt
Horribly, in certain quarters, reckless speculation about Dag’s personal life has been weaponized—perhaps to pigeonhole him and, at times, to defame him. He was comfortable with the posthumous publication of his journal and left instructions confirming that consent. He believed his writings were the best way for anyone to know him and left it at that.
In this book, I will cover some of the spurious accusations tossed in Dag’s direction, but for my part, I don’t care if Dag was gay, straight, asexual, celibate to devote himself to his work wholly, etc. I prefer to rely on source material and trust Dag’s own words and actions.
In all my research, I’ve not uncovered any information to make me think Dag was a liar—quite the opposite. There were times when he was uncomfortably honest, and some of his diary entries are painful to read because of how unflinchingly Dag looks at himself and his own flaws.
When asked why he hadn’t married, Dag’s consistent response was that he didn’t believe it was right to have a wife and children sitting at home while he worked long hours and traveled extensively. During his time with the UN, Dag often went to literal war zones, and any trip could have been his last.
Dag’s father, Hjalmar, was usually absent, and Dag saw the profound impact it had on his mother and himself. Dag worked late into the night and took on projects at the drop of a hat—not exactly the kind of life conducive to a happy marriage and a stable family situation.
In fact, Dag never lived on his farm because he was too busy as Secretary-General to fully set up his residence at Backåkra. He hoped to return when he retired, but even then, it’s impossible to imagine Dag shuffling around aimlessly, sleeping until noon, and watching hours of television. He would have found a great many things to occupy him and may have been nearly as busy in his twilight years as he was in middle age.
As I wrote in Decoding the Unicorn:
However, when we consider Dag’s monastic lifestyle, we must observe to what he was devoting himself. By and large, that was his work.
I believe we can take Dag at his word when he said he remained single to devote himself completely to public service. Painting this decision as something sinister is part of the smear campaigns we often see against any man of peace who has an actual platform to affect the world. Individual reporters are typically not the ones responsible for such decisions; it’s a reflection of a much deeper system.
That is a point I wish to emphasize before getting to the meat and potatoes of this work: Powerful forces that profit from war, chaos, and bloodshed do not take kindly to anyone who seriously threatens that arrangement.
Sure, politicians pay lip service to the ideas of peace and human rights. Then they foment wars, place economies at the mercy of central bankers and their boom-bust cycles, and appoint a revolving door of rogues from Capitol Hill to Wall Street to corporate America like foxes guarding a henhouse.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
No one is supposed to jeopardize this structure. The press plays its part in the pantomime as well. Outlets generally have no compunction whatsoever in publishing hit pieces that destroy someone’s entire career instantly.
As the decades glide by and immediate family members are no longer around, there are fewer defenses against character assassination. So, if someone decides to write a play à la Conor Cruise O’Brien’s faux “history” Murderous Angels or Fact magazine’s article alleging that Dag went insane and caused his own plane to crash in a suicidal explosion, who will step up and cry foul?
I will! And gladly.
© Sara Causey
Simply Dag will be available in ebook, hardback, paperback, and audiobook formats on July 29, 2026.
Explore more:
- 5 Surprising Things You Didn’t Know About Dag Hammarskjöld
- Remembering Dag Hammarskjöld: His Life, Legacy, and Enduring Relevance
- Quiet Doesn’t Mean Weak: How Dag Hammarskjöld Refused to Be Bullied
- 6 Things You Didn’t Know About Dag Hammarskjöld
New to Dag’s life and legacy? Start here.
You can purchase Sara’s award-winning biography Decoding the Unicorn: A New Look at Dag Hammarskjöld on Amazon by clicking here! Her forthcoming project, Simply Dag, will release globally on July 29, 2026.
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Photo credit: Dag Hammarskjöld photographed by Clara E. Sipprell, 1954. Public Domain.