James Van Der Beek’s daughter, Emilia Van Der Beek, shared a very brave and brutally honest message about grief on what would have been his 49thbirthday.
Almost a month after the beloved Dawson’s Creek star died following a battle with colorectal cancer, 10-year-old Van Der Beek is opening up about her grief. The young girl asked her mom, Kimberly Van Der Beek, to share a candid video about grief on Instagram, in a message everyone should hear.
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“So today is my dad’s birthday, and the number one thing for somebody’s passing is to talk to them and let your emotions out. If you miss them, you can cry. You can talk to them. I talk to my dad every day, and I start with a sentence, and I say, ‘Hi, Dad. I miss you, and I love you so much, and I’ll never stop loving you.’ And I just tell him about my day, how I’m feeling, and I tell my family how I’m feeling. And I know he can hear me,” she shared.
Van Der Beek went on to share that people need to feel their loved ones in their hearts. She added that she feels her dad is watching over her and that he’s in a good place without any of the pain he was in before he died.
“And just cry. Cry, cry, cry. Be happy they’re in a good place. Be sad because you miss them. You can be angry, but don’t blame yourself. Blaming yourself, it’s not a good strategy for someone’s passing,” Van Der Beek expressed.
James’ daughter explained that everyone handles grief differently, whatever kind it is, so no one should tell anyone else how to grieve or feel after a loss. She admitted that people saying they know how she feels isn’t something she likes because they don’t know, and being without her dad is very hard.
Despite the horrible loss she has suffered at such a young age, Van Der Beek believes things happen for a reason, maybe just not when and how people want. It’s something she learned from her father as he was fighting cancer.
“Everything is meant to happen for a reason. Something my dad told me was if this doesn’t work out the way he wanted it to and the way we wanted it to, for him living, I still have to believe in miracles. Miracles can still happen, just later on in life. And they’ll keep coming. But maybe when you want them to come, they might not,” she stated.
Related: James Van Der Beek’s Brother Breaks Silence on His Death in ‘Beautiful’ Tribute: ‘He Was My Person’
Van Der Beek revealed she was wearing one of her dad’s hats, remarking that she loved it so much because it smelled like her dad.
“I praise my dad. I know that he was a good man. A lot of people loved him, and people prayed for him, and he was loved by many, many parts and many, many people,” Van Der Beek declared.
The young girl ended her message with a huge thank-you to everyone who donated to the GoFundMe for her family in honor of her dad.
James and Kimberly are also parents to daughters Olivia, Annabel, and Gwendolyn, and sons Joshua and Jeremiah.
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