Carrie Fisher's Daughter Gives Some Poignant Advice For Everyone Grieving Over The Holidays
The holidays are meant to be a beautiful, celebratory time. But for some, the holidays are a grim reminder of the loved ones who are no longer with us or who they may be estranged from.
Billie Lourd, Carrie Fisher's daughter, offered some poignant advice this season for anyone who may be grieving over the holidays.
Lourd has learned a great deal about grief and has openly discussed the grieving process on social media and in interviews.
Lourd's mother was Carrie Fisher, and her grandmother was Debbie Reynolds. Both icons passed away in December 2016. Carrie Fisher suffered from a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles and passed away from complications on December 27, 2016. The very next day, Debbie Reynolds passed away after suffering from a stroke. The women were 60 and 84.
Losing her mother and grandmother so suddenly after Christmas took a major toll on Lourd. Since then, she's learned to look at holidays and birthdays as a way to celebrate the loved ones we've lost, and to do things on those celebratory days to keep them close, like play songs they loved or cook one of their favorite dishes.
Lourd also always takes the opportunity to reach out to her fans, as well as fans of Fisher and Reynolds who now follow her by association, over the holidays to remind them they are not alone in their grief, and they shouldn't be afraid to wear it on their sleeves.
On Christmas Day, 2019, Lourd posted on Instagram:
"Happy holidays! (But also sad/emotional/weird/stressful holidays!) Sending my love to everyone who has lost someone they loved and is missing them a little extra today."
"I see you. It's okay if everything ain't all merry and bright. It can be a mix of all of it. And it's all okay."
"Feel all the feelings - the good and the not so good. Eat something delish they used to love. Put on one of their favorite songs. Tell a story about them."
"Cry about them. Call one of their friends you haven't talked to in a while. Be kind and patient with yourself. Don't grieve in silence. You're not alone."
This is a beautiful, recurring tribute that Lourd offers to her loved ones that her fans enjoy, identify with and take solace in.
Fans and friends were commenting with their thanks for Lourd's kind words, wishing her a Merry Christmas and sharing their certainty that Fisher and Reynolds are proud of her.
@praisethelourd / Instagram
@praisethelourd / Instagram
@praisethelourd / Instagram
@praisethelourd / Instagram
@praisethelourd / Instagram
@praisethelourd / Instagram
The holidays certainly can be a difficult time when we remember the loved ones who are not in our lives anymore.
But as Billie Lourd reminds us, there are ways of taking that grief and turning it into something that's a little bit beautiful.
The book It's OK That You're Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn't Understand is available here.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams and the teams at Disney and Lucasfilm confirmed they will not digitally render the late Carrie Fisher into the movie, but they will incorporate unused footage shot from the latest trilogy of Star Wars films.
Fisher, forever our Princess turned General Leia Organa, died of cardiac arrest on December 27, 2016, four days after suffering a medical emergency during a flight from London to Los Angeles.
In an inspiring move, Skywalker will also feature scenes including Fisher and her daughter, Billie Lourd.
Abrams told Vanity Fair he intentionally wrote the script to feature Lourd, who played Lieutenant Connix in the Star Wars films: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, in scenes without her mother.
"I purposely had written her character in scenes without Carrie, because I just didn't want it to be uncomfortable for her."
The director recalled Lourd becoming emotionally overwhelmed to the point of temporarily excusing herself.
The 26-year-old actress had just suffered the loss of her mother and Fisher's mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, within a day of each other.
Abrams continued:
"I know it was hard for her for a while."
Billie Lourd Will Reunite With Late Mother Carrie Fisher In ‘Star Wars’ Scenes https://t.co/amyslILDmL https://t.co/RnVt8lDODc— New York Globe (@New York Globe) 1558553260
Carrie Fisher and Daughter Billie Lourd Will Appear in Scenes Together in New Star Wars Film https://t.co/g6gtN67bF1 https://t.co/1GE8013XxK— DeepFind (@DeepFind) 1558549011
Despite her grieving period, Lourd insisted that Lieutenant Connix and Princess Leia have scenes together.
She told the director:
"I want to be in scenes with her. I want it for my children when I have kids. I want them to see."
Audiences are already reaching for their tissues months before the film's release on December 20.
@VanityFair Won’t be a dry eye in the theatre at that point— Marc Chouen (@Marc Chouen) 1558537490
@VanityFair I didn't ask to cry but here we are @gardnerlangway— Marzipan (@Marzipan) 1558549133
@VanityFair i am going to cry, cry a lot. i am going to cry all the tears that carrie has left me— jen (@jen) 1558582490
@VanityFair Theaters everywhere better be prepared for waterworks when Leia scenes come up, in TROS... 😭— The Millennium Falcon - A Star Wars Icon 🚀🛸 (@The Millennium Falcon - A Star Wars Icon 🚀🛸) 1558566327
The Skywalker team wrote around Fisher's existing footage and Abrams described the editing process as a:
"bizarre kind of left side/right side of the brain sort of Venn diagram thing, of figuring out how to create the puzzle based on the pieces we had."
Fisher's posthumous presence somehow works in the world of the epic space opera. The films in the past featured cameos from departed characters like Obi-Wan, Anakin and Yoda as apparitions imparting their words of wisdom to Luke Skywalker.
Abrams was skeptical at first but realized everything coming together was thanks to "Classic Carrie."
"There is an element of the uncanny, spiritual, you know. Classic Carrie, that it would have happened this way because somehow it worked. And I never thought it would."
@VanityFair Omg I’m not ready... love you @praisethelourd ❤️— 🇺🇦 Hailey Beaupre 🇺🇦 (@🇺🇦 Hailey Beaupre 🇺🇦) 1558554808
The Rise of Skywalker is part of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and will be the final installment in the main Star Wars nine film franchise.
May the force be strong with us as we witness Fisher's final performance in movie theaters.