"Like Doing Surgery" - Why Molly Shannon's Memoir Begins With An Unspeakable Tragedy 

This felt like eavesdropping on a mutual therapy session. I'm glad Molly finally got a chance to articulate some of the gratitude we all feel towards Stephen in being able to shepherd our grief.

Molly is one of my favorite people ever. I find her WILDLY entertaining.

Stephen , gets to be real and still have a fantastic opportunity to express everything that allows others too shine. That what makes him a unique superstar

How beautiful was this interview - touching on sacred ground - and completely moving.

Molly Shannon is a Superstar! ⭐

Molly nails why we all love Stephen so much. It is because he is so open about his own feelings and personal experience. That, combined with his obvious genuine compassion for others, his ability to share in the joy and grief of others makes him 100% human.

What an intimate and meaningful conversation to have, especially on stage. While Molly was speaking, I feel like the audience melted away to give them space to talk.

She has always had such a beautiful smile through all this.

Oh my god... This one pulled at my heart strings

This interview, along with the interview with Andrew Garfield, are why this is the best late night show. We are able to hold separate thoughts and emotions at the same time. Laughter and sorrow can coexist, and these vulnerable and touching interviews are cathartic in helping us let out the feelings we tend to bury on a day to day basis.

This has been one of the most unexpectedly emotional interviews I've seen. Molly Shannon is a comedy genius and I've always liked her quite a bit. Having seen her like this just made me respect her even more. She wore her heart on her sleeve and it was a beautiful thing.

Molly Shannon is such a wonderfully human superstar.

OHMYGOSH When Molly Shannon Thanked Stephen Colbert I Cried... Hard

😭 I love that she brought up his family situation nearly mirroring her family situation & led the conversation along their mutual experience of deep & early loss. ❤️💙💚💛💜🧡

Incredible showing of vulnerability. One hell of an interview.

Molly has such a beautiful soul, and had true heartfelt sympathy for Stephen's loss too.

Molly Shannon is so beautiful, she made me cry. Like I really needed anymore reason to love her. 😭😭🤣🤣😂😂🥰🥰🥰🥰

Really feeling for Jon Batiste listening to this conversation knowing that his beloved has been extremely ill. Here's hoping that she has a full, swift recovery. Beautiful interview.

This is just awesome. Humans being real human. Learning about this people’s background and looking their achievements it gives life lessons.

She truly is a SUPERSTAR

Having lost my mom, many other extended family members over the years, and last Summer, my dear MIL and then my husband of 25 yrs; I'm feeling so much empathy because I know that pain. Great interview and I needed to hear it, as I still struggle with putting deep loss into perspective. Sending healing hugs to those who need it. 💜🙏🏼

As someone who just lost his younger 31y brother to mental health, I needed this interview. I hope anyone whos going through tragedy and loss knows their not alone.

in 1976, I lost my 23 yr old brother to a motorcycle accident when I was 18. It was and continues to be life altering through the different stages in my life. I often identify with how Stephen espresses his reflections regarding his losses. I totally understand what Molly said about the urgency and appreciation of being alive! I almost missed this interview, and am very grateful that I did get to watch it.

I love that Stephen allows grief to have a place on this show; it’s such an important thing to experience and process and it so rarely gets the attention it deserves. As someone else who lost a parent in childhood (who didn’t become a comedian), I just appreciate the normalization of grief as an ongoing part of life.

Molly Shannon... PRECIOUS. I could not love this global treasure of a person more. Molly, not only are you loved, you are beloved, and every time I see you my heart always melts, and cheers at the same time. Thank you, love you and so greatly respect you. #SuperStarIndeed

To everyone gushing over this interview: Yes, it was a heartfelt connection, but it also is a perfect example of why modern day network TV talk shows suck in some ways. There's no time to *breathe* hardly - much less discuss anything in depth. She basically had 5 minutes from when she got out there and the interview started to when Stephen ended the segment (Yes I know she had another segment but they had to move on to another topic) For a great contrast of what you are missing out on - listen to Molly Shannon's appearance yesterday on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. (it's on podcast now) If you listen to the Fresh Air interview, you really get the sense she is rushing at the end here - I felt like she could probably see the segment clock ticking down off camera and knew she only had 30 seconds left.

LOVE this woman, and always have. Such a pure conversation.

Anyone else tearing up 😢😭

Love you both so much, thank you for sharing your pained inner selves. Thank you for the opportunity to cry with you.

Stephen is an infinite blessing. God bless both of them.

I'm incapable of processing grief I'm very very stuck, emotionally. I'm learning, but it's so hard. I'm grateful to both Molly and LSSC for this.

How sweet that she turns the conversation and talks about the people Steven and Anderson have lost. What an amazing genuine person! 💗

i cried for a long while after this interview. i can't quite place why it hit me as hard as it did. my parents are still here, alive, and yet it did something to me. wowza, what a release.

She's so sweet...I'm teary now.

Stephen credits the loss of his father and siblings for making him "fearless" at a very young age. Comedians embody "If you don't laugh, you'll cry." We survive by laughing.

Molly Shannon: My Favorite. Love you, girl.

I have a whole new outlook and appreciation for Molly Shannon now. (I already loved her, but this just resonates with me) I've had A LOT of loss in my life. Besides the 2 I'm going to mention here, there have been more deaths of people I love than most people I know especially of my generation. When I was 3, I was SOOO EXCITED to become a big sister, but when my brother Matthew was born he was born severely disabled, one of his birth defects, at the time of his birth doctors said there were only 8 other people KNOWN of alive with it in the WORLD. So I had to learn what death was, & told he was going to die pretty much every year of his life. My parents disagreed on how to handle life after his birth, which lead to their divorce, which was a lot of trauma for a munchkin like me. My brother lived to be 22, almost 23. I'm a better person for simply having known him. He was a miracle, survived over 20 operations including 2 full body casts, contracting HEP C from blood transfusions in the 1980s when donor blood wasn't thoroughly screened. He also would have to eat through a feeding tube after the first 4-5 years he was alive. When he'd swallow it would end up in his lungs and he would end up with pneumonia in the hospital. It was awful. But he was such a tough lil guy. He affected the lives of everyone whom ever met him; as he was so unique. I've had a lot of other losses of loved ones too, in fact in 2020, I had the VERY unfortunate experience of finding my best friend deceased in her apartment. It's a lot to deal with, I get emotional easily and I try to appreciate as much as I can of life everyday.

I see some in the comments saying "The interview was too short". Feelings can be expressed in just a look sometimes. Honestly, don't think I will ever forget this interview.

Molly Shannon's life has been a prayer of gratitude.

Molly is a treasure!!!

You're Awesome, Molly. And also my hero

Freaking love Molly. She is funny, incredibly intelligent, resourceful and so, so kind.

I needed this conversation more than they knew

Molly's always been a breath of fresh air.

she is SO beyond right about how she felt about stephen’s conversation with anderson cooper about losing his dad and brothers. at one point stephen says, “what punishment of god is not a gift?” and that has stuck with me since those words came out of his mouth. and i never lost a parent or ANYTHING close like he and molly have, but after 7 years with someone, they left me because of my drinking. and i spiraled and i spiraled FAST. and that feeling of grief, even if it’s not a physical death, is still one of the heaviest stones i have to carry to this day.

She is incredibly a raw and real amazing icon of humanity and how to handle humor in the most difficult times

Can’t help but smile every time I see Molly, what a beacon of light. Funny and glowing in everything she does

I just can't LOVE Molly Shannon more than I already do. I didn't know that part of her life, which makes even more special the way I just like her. ❤️

Oh lord, tears running down my cheeks, lovely interview!

This reminds a tragedy that happened in my city of Mogadishu back in 1989. The immediate family who lived behind our house was moving to another city on the other side of the country. Unfortunately their truck had a major crash and it fell down from mountainous region. All but two - a toddler girl and her old brother - survived. They were brought back to our neighbourhood. Everyone was tying to take care of them, trying to help them for months until they moved. As a nine-year-old boy, I still remember them, especially the boy who had a large permanent scar on his face from the accident.

Ive always liked Molly Shannon, she just felt like a positive person, someone you want to have in your life. I'm rather sad to hear that she had such crushing disasters in her family so early in life.

I didn't need to cry today. I cried yesterday already.

She's so real and refreshing. I love you Molly.

Wow! Molly Thank You. Thank you for your humanness. Is that a word? I just love Molly Shannon girl.

Stephen Colbert molly shannon's memoir like doing surgery awesomeness job interview

I've always loved Molly; I love her even more now.

Incredible interview

"A lot of people suffer, not everybody becomes a comedian" - John Stewart "If heartaches were commercials we'd all be on TV" - John Prine

She's a lovely funny lady...she also did her whole family very proud!

Love Molly Shannon. Had no idea she experienced such loss and grief similar to Stephen's.

She is such a beautiful person inside and out. Can't wait to read her book

This woman is pure light. Authentic at the core. I just adore her so much

Omg I love them

I suddenly love these two even more than I ever had before. Wow.

I wonder if her character Mary Kathrine Gallagher was named in honor of her sisters Mary and Kate. Maybe a coincidence I'm not sure. She is such a great comedian.

I love this woman. She's one of the most hilarious woman I've ever seen

Beautiful conversation ❤️

Molly is just quite simply an Absolute Treasure!😉

What a great conversation. I second what she said regarding Stephen and thought it was funny that as she called him a “nice Catholic boy” he was subtly giving her a tissue. Bless them both and spoke so well

I think she said what we ALL think, what a great guy. Stephen is the best on tv, for me litteray the world! ❤❤❤

Being urgently grateful, love it!

@Molly Shannon. I feel the same way about you (your a Gem)... As you feel about Colberts expressions on the subject . Awesomely Real ! I relate to both of you wanting desperately, to make them smile. The Laugh with a head throw back, made my day. Thanks for sharing you two . Xox

I think both of them are such beautiful souls and the fact they spread so much happiness after such tragedy makes me respect them so much.

great Molly Shannon made me tear-up at work.

Beautiful. ❤️

I love her! Love her I love her I love her!

Molly wears her heart on her sleeve, bless her. I finished the book today. 👍👍👍👍 (out of 5)

Loved her before, love her even more....what a great woman!

The pain never goes away completely. My parents broke up in 1966, and I still want them to get back together.

Stephen Colbert is the top late night tv show, hands down. I love all the other guys, but Stephen is extremely evolved - he's a comic genius and truly conscious. Molly is the perfect guest for him. They're so sweet together.

I had no idea that happened to her. Great pain makes great art and humor, personally I think it's a raw deal.

Love Love Love Molly Shannon Memoir

They connected on tragedy, and I don’t wish that on anyone. They were so kind, and found humor in the darkest of hours. Love these two.

This was such a good interview. They get it.

She's so wonderful!!!!!!!!!!

Molly is such an inspiration, she’s a wonderful woman.

Molly has always been my superstar love her 💖

Thank you. Carry on Mx. Molly. 🥂

Could I love her more…. What a great interview.

She is a beautiful person. Naming their names- Peter, Paul and Katie. Names are so powerful, especially when they are your lost loved ones. ❤️

I love Molly Shannon

This was everything ❤️

Comedian memoirs are my favorite and can’t wait to read hers. They’re usually so smart and interesting.

This made me cry I just finished her book such a great read. My mom also died when I was 4 and my mom was 33 also 😥

This was amazing. Her book is so inspirational as well.

Hugs!

Real people, expressing real $#@% within 20minutes, Molly Shannon....a gift. Thank you.

THANKS FOR SHARING.

She's so sweet.

I've been a fan of Ms Shannon. Now I'm absolutely stricken. ♡