Interview

Cecily Strong: “Laughter Goes Hand in Hand With Tragedy”

The SNL star shares her experience with loss and grief

Saturday Night Live star Cecily Strong joined Zibby Owens on her podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books to discuss her debut memoir, This Will All Be Over Soon.

Combining her own story with that of her beloved cousin Owen, who died from glioblastoma in early 2020, Cecily reflects on the pandemic as it unfolded and what the loss felt like. Cecily hopes the book will keep Owen’s optimistic spirit alive, as well as help readers cope with their own loss.

Read an excerpt of their conversation below and listen to the rest of the episode here.

Zibby: How has comedy helped you through some of the hardest parts of dealing with loss and grief?

Cecily: I think it’s always been a part of my life. I think laughter goes hand in hand with tragedy and how we cope. It’s a mini cathartic moment. I tell this story in the book: I spoke at Owen’s service and I tried to get a couple of laughs, probably not a great standup routine, but I know that he would’ve appreciated that. His friend came up to me after and said, “I think Owen would’ve liked that.” Then he said, “I was holding it together so well because it was stoic. It was all sad and serious. The minute I laughed, the tears came.” It just allowed him to feel it.

Zibby: Is there anything in here that made you think, “Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe I put that out there?”

Cecily: I didn’t write this because I want anyone to feel bad for me. I wrote it because I wanted to just add my voice to the things that I think a lot of people in America deal with.

My hope is that people who need it take a moment for themselves and check in to see if they’re doing ok. I don’t know if we check in with ourselves enough, especially right now. It was a really hard year. There’s this push now that we’re vaccinated. But we’re not quite out of the woods. And we may also be holding onto traumas we don’t understand yet.

Checking in with yourself doesn’t take away from anything. It’ll also turn you into a better support system for somebody else if you’re able to pause and reflect on how you feel and what you might need help with.

https://zibbyowens.com/transcript/cecily-strong-this-will-all-be-over-soon?rq=strong