Published Nov 13, 2024

Saving The Day & Saving Himself, Liam Neeson, 72, Describes Fatherhood As ‘An Ongoing Joy’ After His Wife’s Passing— Coping With Grief

Details
Transcript
Save This Video

Coping After Losing a Loved One

“Taken” actor and dad of two Liam Neeson, who tragically lost his wife Natasha Richardson 15 years ago after she suffered a fatal head injury while skiing, has described fatherhood to his sons Micheál and Daniel Neeson as “an ongoing joy.”
Grief is a difficult, truly personal process, something Neeson has shown. Some find solace in vulnerability and sharing how they feel with others.
While working through grief and vulnerable tackling of the emotions that accompany it, some find tools like therapy to be helpful. For others, support groups or turning to faith may be helpful. Whichever methods of support you look for after loss, you should know that there is no correct way to grieve. There is no perfect timeline for grieving, either.
Our mental health can affect how we think, feel, and behave. Certain triggers like stress, traumatic events, or change in your physical health can affect mental health. It’s really important to keep tabs on your mental health and, if necessary, seek treatment. Please check out SurvivorNet’s mental health guide for resources to help you on your way.

Actor Liam Neeson, 72, tragically lost his wife in 2009 after she suffered a fatal head injury while skiing in Quebec. Although he’s been a single parent ever since, the grieving “Taken” star has admitted it’s “an ongoing joy” to be a dad. Neeson and his late wife are parents to two children: 29-year-old Micheál Neeson and 28-year-old Daniel Neeson.

Neeson’s wife, “Parent Trap” actress Natasha Richardson may have died 15 years ago, but her memory is kept alive through her loving two sons and her beloved husband, who previously credited his boys for helping him grow as a man.

Back in 2012, when Neeson was age 60 and raising his sons, who were just 16 and 17 years old, in upstate New York, the Northern Irish actor told the Daily Mail, “My kids are learning to drive at the minute and it’s kind of nerve-racking, isn’t it? They’re actually quite accomplished but inside of you, you always see them at a very young age and now suddenly they’re driving a car. It’s something every parent goes through.

“It’s an ongoing joy being a dad. It’s always a joy but it’s a joyful worry. My boys are 16 and 17 now and it seems like just last Tuesday that crossing the road was a major event. And, then, letting them cross the road themselves was a serious major event.”

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Daniel Neeson (@bgdans91)

He continued, “‘When Michael was born, Meryl Streep, who is a pal, looked at my son sleeping and she said, “’ou know you’re a hostage now for the rest of your life?’

“That’s absolutely true, no matter what age they are, they’re still going to be your little boy or your little girl. And you are a hostage to love.”

Referring to how his children have helped him grow as a man, he explained, “They really do help, in all sorts of quiet, subtle ways. … They seldom come home when they’re supposed to but I just have to get used to that.”

It’s clear Neeson should be proud for raising two wonderful sons after experienced such a tragic event of his wife’s death, and just last year his son Daniel took to social media to remember his late mom, who he believed help him get through the race.

Daniel captioned a post, featuring him, his brother, and his dad, after completing the NYC marathon, “What a beautiful Sunday stroll throughout the boroughs yesterday. Running this years @nycmarathon reminded me what it means to be a New Yorker and a human.

“A day where political views, biases, opinions etc get thrown out the window and everyone unites to show love and support. A key reminder that everyone has the capability to love! One love!”

He continued, “When I got to the final 3 miles I thought of my mom, who I think possessed my body and carried me to the end. I thought of everyone who’s suffering around the world, people who are fighting for a drop of water, a roof to be protected and a guiding light to bring them peace and happiness. I ran for @concernworldwideus who’s at the forefront of partnering with communities that have been dealt the worst hand. They exemplify what it means to be men/women for others.

A special thanks to @matt_durkin54 @brunothecoach Coach Pat, all my family and friends for being there for me and of course to my number one @natalieack for supporting me every step of the way. The signs were amazing haha. I love you! Congrats to all the runners! Mind over matter.”

Then, on the 15th anniversary of Richardson’s death [March 18, 2009], Daniel shared a photo in memory of his mom.

He wrote alongside the black-and-white throwback photo, “15 years since you’ve left this plane onto forever more. I look forward to re uniting one day but for now I take solace in knowing you’re beside me every step of the way. Hopefully, I’m making you proud. I think you would definitely be proud of my margarita skills. She was the OG margarita mama! As a kid, I used to ask her for a sip of hers, and she would gently say not till you’re older. Little did she know I would one day start my own tequila brand and have way too many margaritas at my finger tips.”

He added, “My aunt, @joelyrichardsonsinsta who always brightens my day, said to me this week that we sometimes forget that we’re on an ever spinning planet.

“Change is inevitable, and we must embrace it with open arms. If you’re a believer or not in quantum physics, the past, future and present coexist. We’re all interconnected here and over there through love. The greatest life force. choose it above all else.”

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Daniel Neeson (@bgdans91)

Meanwhile, as for Neeson is coping years after losing his sweet wife, the actor told Inquirer.Net in 2020, “I speak to her every day at her grave which is about a mile and half down the road.

“I go down there quite often, so I do speak to her as if she’s here. Not that she answers me.”

As for finding love after loss, Neeson revealed he is no longer interested in dating, noting he is “past all that.”

Moving Through Grief

Grief is a difficult, truly personal process, something Neeson has shown. Some find solace in vulnerability and sharing how they feel with others.

While working through grief and vulnerable tackling of the emotions that accompany it, some find tools like therapy to be helpful. Support groups can also be a benefit for those who are feeling isolated in their feelings of grief, as can turning to faith.

Whichever methods of support you look for after cancer loss, or any type of tragic death of a loved one, you should know that there is no correct way to grieve. There is no perfect timeline for grieving, either.

Therapy Saved My Life’: After Losing A Loved One, Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help

Surviving the Loss of a Partner

Fighting your own cancer battle is one of the toughest experiences in life; watching the disease take someone you love is a different kind of pain. In some cases, a spouse with cancer can take proactive steps to talk about what might come after.

“I Don’t Want to Move On; I Do Want To Move Forward”: Doug Wendt On Being A Caregiver and Tragically Losing His Wife to Ovarian Cancer

“She wanted to make sure that I knew that it was OK, she really wanted me to have another relationship after she was gone,” one widower told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.

Meanwhile, John Duberstein lost his wife, writer Nina Riggs, to metastatic triple negative breast cancer. He says that while he was watching her suffer from the disease, he couldn’t help but wish things could go back to normal â€¦ but Riggs had already embraced her new normal.

“I really wanted things to go back to normal, whatever that meant,” Duberstein told SurvivorNet. “She was not for that. She wanted to embrace the existence that she had, even before she knew she was going to die imminently. I did not want to talk about what was going to happen with me after Nina died. Nina is the one that really brought it up, she brought it up a number of times.”

Dating After Cancer; Getting Intimate with the New You

Duberstein explained that even with the pain of losing his wife, and even though he didn’t want to talk about it at the time, he’s so glad they had those seemingly uncomfortable conversations.

“In retrospect, I can’t even explain how glad I am that I had that.”

This is a reminder that having those uncomfortable and painful conversations with your partner can be fundamental to your well-being as you move forward in the grieving process, alleviating the guilt felt in starting to date again, and/or eventually marry.

Struggling Mentally Is Not the Same for Everyone

Struggling mentally after a tragic loss does not look the same for everyone. Some people may be very high-functioning, while others show clear signs that indicate depression. Sometimes, perhaps after a particularly stressful life event, people may begin feeling anger that seems irrational or uncharacteristic.

Dr. William Breitbart, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, says that when he sees patients dealing with some sort of life-changing or even life-threatening challenge, they may turn to anger as a way to cope.

“One gets angry because one hasn’t quite achieved and fulfilled the tasks that they set out for their lives and the responsibilities that they’ve committed to fulfill,” Dr. Breitbart explains. Treatment may involve speaking with a professional and trying to come up with ways to achieve those goals. However, Dr. Breitbart notes that guiding these patients to accept their own vulnerability is also crucial.

Coping with Intense Feelings

“The last resort of relieving existential guilt is this act of being able to forgive yourself for being a human being that is vulnerable and susceptible to not being able to fulfill their full potential. So, it’s forgiveness ultimately,” he explains.

For some people, there may even be a sense of shame or guilt involved in seeking mental health treatment in the first place. However, there’s nothing to be ashamed of and it is important to realize you are not alone.