Silverman's father and stepmother are buried under one tombstone that reads: "Janice and Donald, who loved to laugh." The loss was a starting point for Silverman's "cathartic" Netflix comedy special, PostMortem. She spoke with Terry Gross about their final days, finding the joy in grief, and she reflects on the boys' club of the comedy scene when she was starting out.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
What inspired Sarah Silverman to create her special about grief?
How we experience time. That's on the TED Radio Hour from NPR.
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Mothers have a way, or at least mothers of a certain generation, have a way of focusing on their children's hair or how they look. And you have a story about that, and you have a couple of stories. When your mother, your biological mother, was dying in 2015, what did she say about your hair?
It's funny. I was sitting with her, and, you know, we were in New Hampshire. That's where I'm from. And, you know, I did not know it was going to be the last time I would see her, but I knew this was towards the end, you know. And I was saying goodbye to her. I was heading to Logan Airport in Boston. And I was holding her hand, and we were just—she was looking up at me, and she smiled.
Yeah.
Was that the last thing she said to you? That was the last thing she said to me. What does that make you think?
I love it. I wouldn't change it for the world. It was the ultimate mother-daughter encapsulation, I think. I think Susie, my oldest sister, had a similar... She said something to Susie the last thing. It was something like, sweetheart, do you even own a brush? These are the things she's focusing on in her last moments. But yeah, she was something else.
And your stepmother was really into makeup and jewelry. She had makeup tattooed on her face. I think lipstick and eyeshadow.
I think eyeliner and lip liner. It actually aged very well. With no makeup, just a clean face, she looked gorgeous.
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