In the latest episode of On the Marie Curie Couch, bereavement expert Jason Davidson meets Lucy Briers.
British actress Lucy Briers is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Mary Bennet in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Following in the footsteps of her dad, TV actor Richard Briers, Lucy studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, graduating in 1991. She has appeared in more than 40 plays and spent two years with the Royal Shakespeare Company. In this episode of On the Marie Curie Couch, Lucy describes the last moments of her beloved dad, and the grief that followed his death from emphysema in 2013.
Grief is an unpredictable mistress
"My parents had been married for 57 years, they met when they were 21 and 22, and she had lost the person that she'd focussed her entire life around. I think the shock was so immense, she told me that she probably cried about twice, that was it, and then the [Alzheimer's] disease took hold. I didn't really collapse until about two years later. Grief is a very unpredictable mistress. You absolutely do not know how it's going to treat you and how you're going to treat it. You have no idea until you experience it."
Immediate and absolute absence
"My father died so suddenly and my friend died so suddenly of an asthma attack, these people are just snatched. They're just snatched away from you, these people that you literally spoke to a week before, or in the case of my father two days before, and it's so absolute."
Listen now
Tap the link near the top of this page to listen to Lucy's chat with Jason. Alternatively, listen to or download it via Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd prefer, you can read a full transcript of the episode.
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Content note: discussion of death and grief with reference to themes/topics that might be triggering or upsetting.
