Yiyun Li: ‘The Wound That Won’t Heal’
1/23/202638 min
Author Yiyun Li lost both of her children to suicide. Vincent at 16. James at 19. She talks with Anderson about why she doesn't use the words "grief" or "process," instead describing her pain as "an abyss," and a "wound that won't heal."
Host: Anderson Cooper Showrunner: Haley Thomas Producers: Chuck Hadad, Grace Walker, Emily Williams Associate Producer: Kyra Dahring Video Editor: Eric Zembrzuski Technical Director: Dan Dzula Bookers: Kerry Rubin and Kari Pricher
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAnderson Cooper· Host0:01
Welcome to All There Is. Wherever you are in your grief, you're not alone, and I'm glad you're here. It's my brother's birthday in a couple days. It's another one of those days on the calendar that I've always dreaded. Carter Cooper would be turning 61 on January 27th. He killed himself when he was 23. It's incredible to me that it has been 38 years, and still how he died, the horror of it, the violence, it overshadows everything about his life for me, and I wish that wasn't the case, and I hope that one day it won't be. I spoke recently on All There Is Live, my streaming show on cnn.com/allthereis, with a mom named Chrissy Kay, whose son Forrest died by suicide six years ago, and she talked about how her grief this year has changed in a way that allows her to see her son again as he was, not just as he died.
Chrissy Kay· Soundbite1:00
This year, like a change happened. It wasn't like there was like this precipitating event like, oh, now things are different. This year I entered September without my gut twisting, without like having this feeling of dread, and I was like, "Whoa, this is curious. I... What's going on here?" And then I continued to feel not just