CNN's Anderson Cooper sits down with Whoopi Goldberg to discuss her new book "Bits and Pieces", which discusses coping with the death of her mother and brother. #CNN #News
I lost my two younger brothers. It was the three of us and our Mom and Dad. I was the big sister. I looked after them. When they died I was lost and still am today. The pain never goes away.
I'm so sorry for your loss. When I lost my mom I had just had a lung removed from cancer. She went in the hospital the day after I got out and for the next 6 weeks she had so many times she almost pased but fought hard to not die. About 5 weeks in my sister called at 2 a.m. and said it was really close and if I wanted to come now was the time.I flew across the state prayng she'd hold on until i got there at 4:30. She was sitting up having a snack when I arrived. She first chewed my sister out because she called me but then we gad a great talk.I asked her what she was worried about and she was afraid she was going to hell because she had a baby before she met my dad and her first husbad walked out on her and my baby brother. She worked for a big hotel in Texas and they had wet and dry counties so her bosses would load up her car with liquor and she'd drive it to a different hotel and the extra money got ger through. BUT she thought she'd be punished for being a bootlegger. I thought for a minute and said do you really think God pays attention to Texas laws from 60 years ago? It took her about 30 seconds and she burst out laughing and so did i !!! She passed a week later peacefully. BUT as we were driving home from the funeral i suddenly got a warm glow in ny heart and I knew she was there. She was not afraid and actually excited like she was going on an. Adventure. I could almost hear her say don't be afraid of dying and she was gone. It was the best gift she ever gave me abd I knew and still know she's ok. I tell you this because I think your mom is always there and I feel you needed to know. It feels like I'm supposed to tell you this and I normally wouldn't because i don't like to upset others or ther beliefs. I'm sending you love hugs and peace and I know she's letting you know in the dream. Hang in there it will get better I still talk to my mom every day and if it soundscrazy I'll just embrace the crazy. I knuw what I experienced is real. Peace and love to you.♥️♥️♥️
"Why did you leave me?" So good to hear other people saying this too and about the 10 yr old self being angry. Lost my mom over a year ago. This is exactly how I feel as irrational as that seems.
She didn't leave you honey. Her energy just changed forms. I really feel like she REALLY wants you to know that. And that you can talk to her any time. You may not be able to hear her speak back. Or maybe you will who knows. But she will hear you. She loves you. And that will forever remain present tense. ❤️🫶
It's not irrational at all. I miss my parents every single day. My sister in law said this to me "I think ur parents would want u to live a good happy life. To continue". That was very consoling to me.
I lost mine at the end of 2022, and the pain has not diminished, on the contrary... Thank you to those beautiful souls that Whoopi & Anderson are, for their openness, courage & honesty, and thank you to you for your tribute to your mom!
I'm reading Whoopi's book and what a sweet tribute to her mother and brother. It's very touching. My mother passed away 12 years ago and my dad last year. I'm still here but admit that I feel lost without them.
I used to work in print services and one afternoon a lady came to my store to get her recently deceased mother's funeral program printed. She was very composed when I took her order, but when I showed her the first copy to proofread, she simply said, "You know, you're never ready to lose your mother," and she started crying. Few things have affected me so profoundly. I gave her the finished programs and paid for them myself. And I still think about her all the time.
It's tough being left all alone by family members who were dear to you. I was left by my loving mum, my grandmother, who raised me, my three sisters who were very close to me. I found myself saying,' I'm left all alone in this world'. The last one died after eleven months of being divorced by my wife because I was moved from the US and could not like it. Only my two year old daughter and five year old who were my strength. I could not digest why God did this. Today, I thank Him for His love and strength.
This interview hits me pretty hard because I have lost my entire family and I keep asking that same question: why did you leave me? I then realize that hundreds of millions of other human beings have gone through the same grieving process as I have and we need to trust this part of life. Fortunately, for Anderson and Whoopi they have children/family still whereas I don’t. And since Whoopi said it’s important for us to stick around for them to know us, what about those of us that aren’t blessed with children? I feel so lost.
I, as well, have only me. I’m the only child of an only child mother. My dad only had one sister who had no children. They are all gone. It’s hard. I have good people who love me. I try to focus on that.
My brothers and I were left by my mother at ages 10, twins, and me, 12. It was sudden and had a profound effect on our lives. Listening to Anderson and Whoopi was something that needed to happen for me today. I will be forever grateful.
I lost my Dad in 1996, I was 36 years old. I lost my Mama in 2020, I was 60 years old, and I lost my Sister in 2022, when I was 62 and she was 63. Their was just 13 months between us. My Father had passed after his third heart attack, as we had expected, my Mother died from COPD , and she also was afflicted with Alzheimer's the last year of her life. As Whoopie said unless you've lost your Mother , your Father, your Sister, you can't know what that is like. The loss of a Mother is profound in a way that is indescribable to someone who hasn't lost theirs. Hers was the first heartbeat I ever heard. She was nurturing, she was loving, she was kind, she was hilarious, she was fiesty; a real spitfire! Everyone who ever met her seemed to fall in love with her quickly! She was that comfort, that peace, she was "home" to me. She gave my heart a place to live. My Sister died 1 week after we learned that she had triple negative breast cancer that had matastisized , spreading to her lymph nodes, and into her liver. The oncologist said she had probably been sick for 6 months, but she showed no symptoms until about 3 months before she died. She was in the hospital for 2 weeks, she went home with hospice on a Saturday and then she died the next afternoon. I was shattered, I had never experienced that kind of grief before. A part of me died, I just gave up. I laid down and gave up. I had already had osteoarthritis in one of my hips, that is bone on bone. Then I developed neuropathy in both of my feet. I had recently retired. ( The last 4 years I worked I was able to do so from home). I moved very little anyway by then. Going from my desk to my bed was just a matter of 2 or 3 steps using my walker. The grief took over and I succumbed. I remain bedridden now. I will however receive hip replacement surgery in January 2025 and subsequent rehab. I will walk again with God's help! It will be 2 years on Nov. 20th since my Sisters death. There was always the four of us, my Father, my Mother, my Sister and me. After my Sister died I felt orphaned. As Cooper and Whoopi said that child in me asked "Why did they all leave me"? Some days are still difficult, but what sustains me now is God's promise that we will all be together again. That circle that was broken, it will be made whole again. ❤
I have faced death more than once. 1. I have discovered the deceased body of my roomie. He was already blue. 2. I remember feeling nothing but cold flesh when I felt for a pulse on my Dad. 3. I myself have had 2 heart attacks and a mini stroke. I have faced death more than once. We will all face death more than once.
I'm coming up on the one year anniversary of my father's passing. He battled cancer for a year and a half. I was by his side the entire time. Almost every doctor's appointment. Almost every cancer treatment. We saw each other basically everyday and about 6 months before he passed, we moved in to help my mom care for him. We had a family business and I worked side by side with him for over 20 years. Aside from my wife, he was my best friend. In some ways things feel different than a year ago when he passed. In some ways, it still feels like it just happened.
When My daughter died some people came to the funeral & said “she was in a better place “… ah No, in my arms is where she should be… another said “ your strong Kim, these things only happen to strong people” like it was a compliment… please just give the grieving a hug & tell them you care …
I have lost both my parents, a brother and numerous friends through the years. They didn't leave me to grieve. They just passed away. As a child, I went to many funerals of aunts, uncles, and grandparents. It's the circle of life. You feel sad, but if you are like me, you remember the good times! That's what helps me, remembering the good times.
Amazing stuff and a well done interview once again with Whoopi. Anderson Cooper is an amazing Journalist and maybe the best on television. He sees both sides and not quick to just be rash and biased no matter what he's covering. Of course he despises Trump but understands that Republicans have values. I actually only watch his show now for my daily news because not only is he informative, he also cracks funny jokes and not afraid to show his emotions. The media needs more AC and I don't care whether the person follows my personal values or not. I want good Journalism and he brings it. EVERY TIME.
Vím také, že jste byla na návštěvě u známé celebrity a chovala jste se úžasné, velice, chytrá, pracovitá, skvělá dáma. Váš musí mít rád každý člověk. Jste velice skromná. A také velice zajímavá žena. Děkuji, že jste.
All though we can never know how someone deals with their own grief as it's a personal journey, this snippet made me believe that Anderson and Whoppi knew exactly what each other's grief was like.
Grief is so personal and so individual and so debilitative then freeing then alone then independent then needy then sad and happy then unquenched ...it takes exactly 20% of our lives then 10% then 70% of our active lives .....
This is the first Mother’s Day (and her May 12th birthday) without my mom. Sad, missing her. She was my anchor, and always believed in the talents of each and everybody of her six children and 11 grandkids. 💔
This was special. I have a particular love bond with my mother and my sister because they’ve been here since the beginning. I resonated with that. There’s a special place in my heart for the 2 women who literally nurtured me and taught me everything I know. Thank you for sharing this. ❤️
When Anderson gets emotional talking about his loss/pain I feel understood in a certain way because I know what it’s like to lose someone you love and I always feel so emotional about it. It makes me feel like I’m not alone in my pain
I listened to two seasons of All There Is with Anderson Cooper and they were wonderful. 5 years ago, I lost my husband of 37 years. I miss him still everyday but I feel that I am not alone, listening to these episodes. One of my favorites was the one with Stephen Colbert. I hope to there will be season 3.
"There was nothing left unsaid" - wow ..thats exactly how I feel about my relationship with my dad.and his passing. Nothing was left unsaid with us. She just unlocked a lot for me with that.
I’ve lost my beloved brother to suicide when we were just teens. That reality has much more to discuss. I’ve lost many people in my now 60 year old life. I’ve been learning to open space for people who’ve lost a loved one. ~Grief comes with many feelings, and ebbs while it flows… Yet, it never dissipates~
Whoppi and Anderson I feel your pain I've recently completed a awesome book about my Father who was a elder in the church so this was a way to honor his faith and show the other side, where he was a professional chef both of his commitments were serving people's needs.
My Mommy died on 5/4/23 and we buried her the Friday before Mother's Day. Then one of my Brothers died on 10/23/23. This Sunday will be Mother's Day 2024 and I don't know yet how I will get through it. My Parents were Married 53 years until my Daddy died on 2/10/2016 and raised 7 kids: 5 boys and 2 girls. I ALWAYS knew how blessed I was and with so many of my friends being raised in Single Parent Households, they always reminded me of it. I miss my Parents more than anyone could ever describe with Words. The Grief is tangible and if not for The Grace & Mercy of God, I would have unalived myself. Like Whoopi says, it's not my time yet and I will see them again in Eternity. 🙏🏽✝️
I have recently discovered that asking someone who is grieving "How are you doing?" is NOT a good question to ask. Everything we were taught is not good. When you know better you do better. 💕
I work with college students who often have to deal with the death of someone special to them. I tell them that loss is hard, no one can know how they’re feeling and invite them to share something special about who they’ve lost something funny or something they loved doing together….
Anderson and Whoopi this interview and Whoopi book will help so many people around the World its heart felt where emotions we fell with death of love ones it bought relief. Thank you Whoppi l will Purchase this book i want to hear more ❤❤❤💯🎯
Thank you for this Anderson, Whoopi for this truly passionate piece of conversation interview. Something I will look back to to go forwards on when my journey in life takes a dip with my elderly parents and my grandparents and uncle who already left us a few years ago. Healing ❤️🩹 is all we need. 🤗
Awesome interview! My lovely Mom Helen died 3 years ago. Still I miss her everyday. She was a fantastic person to be around. Like Whoopi said; nobody will know how much you loved them then only you.
I was not expecting Anderson to breakdown he is always so stoic. I know he really misses his mom and brother wow. Whoopi has so much wisdom and she is so comfortable in her skin. I admire her a lot.
Watching this I wish Whoopi had responded to Anderson clearly being emotional over his own losses,his mother and brother. Apart from that,it was a good interview 👍
I listened to this, and when I tell you, it bought 😭 to my 👁️👁️. This small interview was everything! Genius, and true wisdom at its best! Whoopi Goldberg is phenomenal! Phenomenal woman 👠 is she! This conversation even made him tear up. ❤
When I lost my dad, an evil guy, I felt relief, but when my mum died I knew it was coming and was able to deal with it, however I still remember her and find myself thinking 'Mum is going to love this', then remember she's gone...
Oh Anderson, I totally love this authentic conversation. These conversations are so needed. I see the pain in your eyes and I remember you talking about your mom to me. The childhood pain never goes away. Sending hugs to you and Whoopi.
Our loved ones are never truly gone. They just transitioned to another plane/dimension/spiritual place. They do watch over us. I feel Anderson grief. My grandmother and favorite human being of all time transitioned in 2018 at 97 years old. I think about her all the time in a good way. God's grace covers us the most in these moments. Ironically Whoopi is one of my favorite actresses.
This is a really important, difficult and necessary conversation that most people avoid. I appreciate the discussion. I love d and respected my father, but I did not really value his wisdom, courage and example of what a man is supposed to be until he left me. I miss him every minute of the day.! Learning to grieve has been one of the hardest lessons of my life.
Those words reflect all emotions and thoughts process on being the only one left after both parents and siblings pass. It's been over 30 yrs. and it never feels that long. Rip to all luv1's that left luv1's.🎉🎉🎉
I crying so much thinking about ma maman if she leaves this earth, I really don't know what to do. Am so scared of losing my Mother that is why I always said mum I love you so much never spent a days without praying for her. Mother are like our god on earth. ❤
It is the mystery we all wait upon. I have survivor guilt when I lost my Mom,Brother,and two sister-in-laws. I am aware that there is reason I'm not done yet. Each day allowed is how I accept it. Thanks for your words here that make me feel we all say why?
Love you Whoopi, your words today also gave me more understanding of what I have been going through, we search and wonder why and how are we going to move forward, we know what’s coming, then there it is, and they are gone. You helped me today, and will help me in all my tomorrows, I wish I could say more than just thank you, you have a new home in my soul. ❤
One of *the* most priceless platinum quality human beings on this planet, Whoopi Goldberg. Style, grace, poise, One of a kind with immense humility. I absolutely adore her. Our world is a better place because we experienced her in in our lifetimes.
