Chris Cornell’s Daughter Lily Details Their Relationship, Grieving His Death
Ever since the death of Chris Cornell back in 2017, the late singer has become a symbol in the world of mental health. His daughter, Lily Cornell Silver, recently launched a mental health platform in his honor, and she recently shared her struggles dealing with his loss with Rolling Stone.
The combination of grieving the death of her father combined with a global pandemic is what inspired Silver's IGTV series Mind Wide Open, which was launched July 20 — what would've been the icon's 56th birthday.
The entire concept for the platform is very rooted in Seattle. The introductory music is Alice in Chains' "Don't Follow" from their Jar of Flies EP. Additionally, the name "Mind Wide Open" was actually a phrase written by Cornell that was never turned into a song. The whole stanza read, "Half alive / Heard the most brilliant lie / Sleep is eyes closed to the light / Death is the mind wide open."
Cornell was a big support system for Silver, and the father-daughter pair often had conversations about anxiety and ways to overcome it.
"Something he used to say to me that would crack me up was, 'Stupid people don’t have anxiety. The fact that you’re worrying about what the outcome is going to be and thinking what every possible option could be and worrying about all the ways that things could go wrong, it’s because you’re very smart and because your brain works really fast. And even though it sucks, and it can feel like a total burden, you’ll harness it and you’ll figure out how to use it in ways that are helpful to you and others.'”
While Silver acknowledged the beauty of knowing her father helped so many of his fans through their own emotional turmoils, it's also been quite difficult grieving his death while living in a city that has his face painted all over it.
"There are pros and cons living in Seattle. He’s everywhere, which is such a beautiful thing, but it can also be really difficult, and it comes with its own unique set of struggles. Not many people have to deal with seeing murals [of their loved ones] all over the place or people recognizing me," she confessed.
"And I’ve had so many people in my life tell me, 'I struggled so deeply with my mental health. And your dad’s music helped me so much with that. And it helped me feel seen and heard and validated in my struggle.' So that that part of it is really beautiful," she continued.
Silver has the support from fellow Seattle rockers such as Jerry Cantrell, Matt Cameron and Guns N' Roses' Duff McKagan — who will soon be featured as a guest on the series.
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