Eighth anniversary of Carrie Fisher’s death: Daughter Billie Lourd posts tribute

Eight years have passed since the death of Carrie Fisher (1956-2016). Daughter Billie Lourd, 32, says grief has given her a “deeper appreciation” for life today.

December 27th marks the eighth anniversary of the death of “Star Wars” cult actress Carrie Fisher. “I always dread this day,” her daughter posted a tribute to her mother. Billie Lourd shares moving words alongside a childhood photo of herself with her mom and Hawaiian flower leis: “I spend so much time thinking about how terrible I’m going to feel. And my fear is usually right.”

Lourd (herself an actress and known from current films such as “Ticket to Paradise” or “The Last Showgirl”) woke up in the morning with a dark cloud over her. “But when my children woke up, the dark cloud lifted and gave way to bright, radiant sunshine. The anniversary of their death is like an emotional tropical storm. It pours all day, but between the storms the light is more beautiful than on any day without storm clouds .There is no rainbow without rain.”

She also quotes the American writer Anne Lamott (70) and compares grief to a broken leg that never heals perfectly. “It still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with your limp.” That’s how Lourd feels today. “And I’m actually a better dancer with my limp. My grief has given me a deeper appreciation for all of life’s little moments. I look at the magic that my son and daughter are and I know that they are one Piece of this magic. And I feel everything. The joy. The emptiness.

She is raising son Kingston (4) and daughter Jackson (2) with her husband Austen Rydell (32). Fisher’s grandchildren, whom she never got to meet.

Carrie Fisher, world-famous as Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” films, died in 2016 after a cardiac arrest that she suffered on a flight from London to Los Angeles four days before her death.