When tragedy strikes, it can be hard to recover, accept, and learn to love again. Actor Liam Neeson was eventually able to heal after the death of his wife, actress Natasha Richardson in 2009.
Knowing that parts of her still live on has helped that process.
His wife of 16 years was an organ donor. Neeson was working on a film in Toronto when he got the call that his wife suffered a head injury during a skiing lesson at a resort near Quebec.
It was initially believed to be a minor injury. However, Richardson eventually passed away leaving Neeson and her two children, Michael and Daniel, behind.
Their children were 13 and 12 at the time.
“She was on life support…I went in to her and I told her I loved her, said ‘Sweetie, you’re not coming back from this, you’ve banged your head’…she and I had made a pact, if any of us got into a vegetative state that we’d pull the plug…that was my immediate thought…’Okay, these tubes have to go. She’s gone,'” he said in an interview with Anderson Cooper.
Neeson found himself in a similar position to his character in the film “Love Actually” where played the role of a widower named Daniel who is trying to raise his stepson alone.
“And, oh, sure, plenty of times I’ve thought about this film and my own life. “Love Actually,” that’s the way it is. That’s the tapestry of life,” Neeson told Entertainment Weekly.
Since Richardson had been an organ donor, she was able to help keep three others alive.
“She’s keeping three people alive at the moment: her heart, her kidneys, and her liver. It’s terrific. And I think she would be very thrilled and pleased by that,” Neeson told 60 Minutes.
Neeson said his wife’s death has been very surreal for him.
“[Her death] was never real. It still kind of isn’t,” he said. “There’s periods now in our New York residence when I hear the door opening, especially the first couple of years…anytime I hear that door opening, I still think I’m going to hear her.”
He says throwing himself into his work has helped with his grief.
“I’m not good without work,” he said. “I just don’t – I just don’t wallow too much. You know? And I just didn’t want to – especially for my boys – seem to be wallowing in sadness or depression.”
He says his marriage and the loss of his wife has taught him some valuable lessons about love and appreciating life.
“They say the hardest thing in the world is losing someone you love. Someone you grew old with and watched grow everyday. Someone who showed you how to love. It’s the worst thing to ever happen to anyone. My wife died unexpectedly. She brought me so much joy. She was my everything,” he was quoted as saying.
“Those 16 years of being her husband taught me how to love unconditionally. We have to stop and be thankful for our spouses. Because, life is very short. Spend time with your spouses. Treat them well. Because, one day, when you look up from your phone, they won’t be there anymore. What I truly learned most of all is, live and love everyday like it’s your last. Because, one day, it will be. Take chances and go live life. Tell the ones you love, that you love them everyday. Don’t take any moment for granted. Life is worth living.”
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