Robin Williams’ Kids, Zak and Zelda, Remember Him on 8th Death Anniversary | “Be Gentle to Your Hearts Today”

It's been eight years since the world bid farewell to Robin Williams. The Mrs. Doubtfire star died by suicide in 2014 while suffering from Lewy body dementia. His children, son Zak and daughter Zelda, both took to Twitter to pay tribute to their late father. 

The beloved comedian’s daughter posted a quote by writer Haruki Murakami, before sharing a number of suicide prevention resources. She shared: “'And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in.' - Haruki Murakami."

"A thread of suicide prevention resources I have mostly posted before. Please add any others you know of that may be helpful to others below too, so they can find them. I don’t ask for much, but if I may, be gentle to your hearts today. I know I’m trying," her second Tweet read. 

As for Zak, 39, he took to Twitter to share a throwback photo of his dad. 

“Dad, on the eighth anniversary of your passing, I’m remembering how incredibly kind and joyful you were,” Zak tweeted. “I deeply miss you you wonderful, hairy man and will be celebrating your life today. Love you so so much!”

Prior to the talented actor's death, he was misdiagnosed with Parkinson's. His final days were a mess.

“Robin was losing his mind and he was aware of it,” his wife Susan Schneider was quoted as saying in the new biography of Williams, Robin by Dave Itzkoff, according to Vanity Fair. She described him as "a 747 airplane coming in with no landing gear" after he finished work on Night at the Museum.

He had told her that she wanted a "reboot for his brain" since he was stuck in paranoia that went in loops in his mind. 

Soon after his death, Schneider wrote a personal account describing the struggle they went through as a couple due to the then mysterious illness. "In Robin's case, on top of being a genius, he was a Julliard-trained actor. I will never know the true depth of his suffering, nor just how hard he was fighting. But from where I stood, I saw the bravest man in the world playing the hardest role of his life," she wrote, according to Neurology.org.

"For the first time, my own reasoning had no effect in helping my husband find the light through the tunnels of his fear. I felt his disbelief in the truths I was saying. My heart and my hope were shattered temporarily. We had reached a place we had never been before. My husband was trapped in the twisted architecture of his neurons and no matter what I did I could not pull him out," added Schneider.

"Powerless and frozen, I stood in the darkness of not knowing what was happening to my husband," wrote the widow.

Williams' death is considered to be one of the saddest celebrity deaths, and one can't help but feel his absence. 
 
References:

https://twitter.com/zeldawilliams/status/1557768257599406080

https://twitter.com/zakwilliams/status/1557832729424564224

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/05/robin-williams-death-biography-dave-itzkoff-excerpt

https://n.neurology.org/content/87/13/1308.full

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Peter Kramer