Kim Cattrall reflects on wait to find brother who died by suicide
Actor said the ‘weight’ of losing her brother Chris ‘never leaves’
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Your support makes all the difference.Kim Cattrall has reflected on losing her brother, Chris, to suicide in 2018.
Chris died aged 55 in February in 2018, after he went missing from his home in Alberta, Canada.
He was missing for five days before police found his body.
In a new interview with The Sunday Times, Cattrall said her brother’s death was “out of the natural order”.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” she said. “It was sudden and unexpected. You remember where you were, what happened, what was said. It is all so accessible, all the time, a weight that is always with you and never leaves.”
Speaking about the wait to find him, she said: “That was just an extraordinary few days. Everything in you is on high alert because he can be saved. And in my family that was one of the roles you [I] take on.”
Cattrall said she was always expected to come to the rescue because “I’m the one that went into the world. So it was my role. But I am slowly retiring from that. I’ve done a lot of work where I don’t want to assume that I can fix people. They have to want to fix themselves, and me caring, living and fretting about them doesn’t solve it. They have to want to change.”
Her brother had been an alcoholic. Cattrall said: “A friend of mine, who’s a big advocate of AA, which my brother never went to, said alcohol is a mistress that gets you alone and then kills you. It was startling to hear that with such a bare-bones clarity. And that’s exactly what happened.”
“I’m just glad my father wasn’t alive to experience it. As tough as he was, I don’t think he could have taken it.”
It was recently revealed that Cattrall will be making a cameo in the second season ofAnd Just Like That, which arrives on Sly Atlantic and NOW on 22 June.
If you or someone you know is suffering from alcohol addiction, you can confidentially call the national alcohol helpline Drinkline on 0300 123 1110 or visit the NHS website here for information about the programmes available to you.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.