Feature

Neeson’s enduring grief

Liam Neeson’s emotions are still raw, said Tom Chiarella in Esquire.

Liam Neeson’s emotions are still raw, said Tom Chiarella in Esquire. Two years ago, his wife, the actress Natasha Richardson, suffered a brain hemorrhage after a minor fall on a beginner ski slope in Canada, and was rushed to a hospital in Montreal. Neeson had been filming in Toronto, and arrived at the hospital to find chaos. “I walked into the emergency room—it’s like 70, 80 people, broken arms, black eyes, and for the first time in years, nobody recognizes me. Not the nurses. The patients. No one. I’ve come all this way, and they won’t let me see her.”

Finally, a nurse helped him find his wife. “So I get there, just in time. And all these young doctors, who look all of 18 years of age, they tell me the worst.” He purses his lips, mouth dry. “The worst.” Shortly after Richardson’s funeral, he went back to work, still in shock. “But that’s the weird thing about grief. You can’t prepare for it. It hits you in the middle of the night. I’m out walking. I’m feeling quite intent. And it’s like suddenly, boom. It’s like you’ve done that in your chest.” He twists his hands, as though tearing his insides apart. “It’s just extraordinary.’’

Recommended

Uganda's 'shameful' new anti-gay law
Protesters against Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill
Global lens

Uganda's 'shameful' new anti-gay law

War under the sea
A nuclear-powered U.S. Navy submarine
Briefing

War under the sea

Xi Jinping tells national security team to prepare for 'worst-case scenario'
Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Chinese Troubles

Xi Jinping tells national security team to prepare for 'worst-case scenario'

Putin blames Kyiv for 'terrorist' drone attack as war comes home to Moscow
Moscow apartment damaged by drone
Hitting close to home

Putin blames Kyiv for 'terrorist' drone attack as war comes home to Moscow

Most Popular

Why are so many boomers homeless?
Homeless person and tents
Today's big question

Why are so many boomers homeless?

Fossils uncovered in Australia are 107 million-year-old pterosaurs bones, scientists say
Reconstruction of Australian pterosaur.
ptero-sighting

Fossils uncovered in Australia are 107 million-year-old pterosaurs bones, scientists say

Xi Jinping tells national security team to prepare for 'worst-case scenario'
Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Chinese Troubles

Xi Jinping tells national security team to prepare for 'worst-case scenario'