Current:Home > ScamsAnderson Cooper on freeing yourself from the burden of grief-InfoLens
Anderson Cooper on freeing yourself from the burden of grief
View Date:2024-12-23 16:53:16
As the year draws to a close and we think of those we've left behind, it seems the right time to consider the question of grief. Anderson Cooper's CNN podcast is called "All There Is," and it asks, do we move on from grief, or do we simply learn to live with it? He shares some thoughts with us:
"Grief, when it comes, is nothing like we expect it to be." Joan Didion wrote that, and boy, was she right. It's nothing we expect, and it's different for everyone.
I've spent much of my career as a reporter, in wars and disasters, stepping into other people's grief. But I've also spent most of my life running away from my own. And I haven't gotten very far.
The last few years I've been going through dozens of boxes of photos and papers that belonged to my mom, Gloria Vanderbilt, who died in 2019, and to my Dad, Wyatt, who died when I was 10, and to my brother, Carter, who died by suicide when I was 21.
I'm the last one left from the little family I was born into – the last one who remembers our stories and the life we shared. I've found letters and journals, old seating charts for dinner parties, postcards from Truman Capote, even telegrams from Frank Sinatra, whom my mom was dating in the 1950s.
Sifting through these boxes, these memories, it's been overwhelming, and lonely, and I am not sure what I'm supposed to do with it all. I can't just get rid of these things; it's all that's left of them. And I'm not ready to let them go.
The truth is, none of us is alone in our grief, though it certainly feels like we are. The path we are on is well-traveled. The person sitting next to you on the subway, or in a cubicle at work - everyone has felt the pain of loss, or will. It is a bond we can share, but we rarely do. Instead we shroud grief in silence.
Why is it so hard to talk about? Why must we keep it hidden away - crying in private, speaking the names of our loved ones in hushed whispers only we can hear? I've done that my whole life, and the price I've paid is high.
When you bury your grief to mute your sadness, you mute your ability to feel joy as well. You can't have one without the other, and I see that now.
Talking about grief and hearing from others who are living with grief as well, it's the one thing I've found that's helped me feel less frozen by it, and less alone in it.
I'm not a fan of New Year's resolutions, but this year I'm going to try and give up carrying my grief in silence. I've been doing that since I was 10 years old … and the weight of it is just too much to bear.
Listen to "All There Is with Anderson Cooper: Facing Our Grief":
For more info:
- "All There Is with Anderson Cooper: Facing Our Grief" (Podcast)
Story produced by Amol Mhatre. Editor: Karen Brenner.
- In:
- Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper, anchor of CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," has contributed to 60 Minutes since 2006. His exceptional reporting on big news events has earned Cooper a reputation as one of television's pre-eminent newsmen.
veryGood! (451)
Related
- Trump pledged to roll back protections for transgender students. They’re flooding crisis hotlines
- Llamas on the loose on Utah train tracks after escaping owner
- Tim Walz’s Daughter Hope Walz Speaks Out After Donald Trump Wins Election
- Republicans make gains in numerous state legislatures. But Democrats also notch a few wins
- Here's Your First Look at The White Lotus Season 3 With Blackpink’s Lisa and More Stars
- Gia Giudice Shares The Best Gen Z-Approved Holiday Gifts Starting at Just $5.29
- Sumitomo Rubber closing western New York tire plant and cutting 1,550 jobs
- Flooding closes interstate as heavy rains soak southeast Georgia
- Elon Musk responds after Chloe Fineman alleges he made her 'burst into tears' on 'SNL'
- The story of how Trump went from diminished ex-president to a victor once again
Ranking
- MVSU football player killed, driver injured in crash after police chase
- Diddy, bodyguard sued by man for 1996 physical assault outside New York City club
- Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith Step Out for Dinner in Rare Public Appearance
- Liam Payne's Toxicology Test Results Revealed After His Death
- High-scoring night in NBA: Giannis Antetokounmpo explodes for 59, Victor Wembanyama for 50
- Liam Payne’s Friend Says He “Never Abandoned” Him After 3 People Are Charged in Connection to Case
- Horoscopes Today, November 7, 2024
- Chiefs' deal for DeAndre Hopkins looks like ultimate heist of NFL trade deadline
Recommendation
-
‘COP Fatigue’: Experts Warn That Size and Spectacle of Global Climate Summit Is Hindering Progress
-
California air regulators to vote on contentious climate program to cut emissions
-
New Hampshire rejects allowing judges to serve until age 75
-
Liam Payne's Toxicology Test Results Revealed After His Death
-
2025 NFL Draft order: Updated first round picks after Week 10 games
-
NFL Week 10 picks straight up and against spread: Steelers or Commanders in first-place battle?
-
Scam losses worldwide this year are $1 trillion. How to protect yourself.
-
Police search for missing mother who vanished in Wylie, Texas without phone or car