{"id":268209,"date":"2019-02-25T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/b1017502"},"modified":"2019-02-25T04:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-02-25T11:00:00","slug":"how-meghan-mccain-turned-her-fathers-death-into-an-honest-conversation-about-grieving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/music-news\/how-meghan-mccain-turned-her-fathers-death-into-an-honest-conversation-about-grieving\/","title":{"rendered":"How Meghan McCain Turned Her Father’s Death Into an Honest Conversation About Grieving"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"John<\/p>\n

Heidi Gutman\/ABC via Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“If there’s one thing I’m doing in 2019, it’s to continue to destigmatize talking about grief, death and cancer. My father shared his life in public. I share it in death.”<\/p>\n

When Meghan McCain<\/strong> shared those words on Twitter<\/a>, it was much more than a New Year’s resolution.<\/p>\n

In actuality, it was a promise The View<\/em> co-host wanted to share with her fans and followers just one day before she celebrated her very first Christmas without her dad, Senator John McCain<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

“To all of you out there missing a loved one tonight\u2014you are not alone,” she added. “I’m along side you, sending strength.”<\/p>\n

That strength has been visible for the past six months as Meghan has tried to get back to normal\u2014whatever that normal may be\u2014after the Arizona Senator passed away<\/a> from brain cancer at 81.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

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While many grieve the loss of a loved one in private, Meghan and her family had to mourn with America<\/a> as republicans and democrats alike celebrated the life of a war hero and “maverick” of the United States senate.<\/p>\n

For some, they will never forget John’s funeral where politicians including Barack Obama<\/a><\/strong> and George W. Bush<\/a><\/strong> came together and listened intently as Meghan remembered her dad.<\/p>\n

“My father was a great man. He was a great warrior. He was a great American. I admire him for all of these things, but I love him because he was a great father,” she shared during the service<\/a> broadcast across the country. “For the rest of my life, whenever I fall down, I get back up. Whenever I am hurt, I drive on. Whenever I am brought low, I rise. That is not because I am virtuous, strong, resilient; it is simply because my father, John McCain, was.”<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Meghan<\/p>\n

Instagram<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Over the past six months, Meghan has certainly made her father proud as she returned to work<\/a> at The View<\/em> where she brings her voice to the panel that includes Whoopi Goldberg<\/a><\/strong>, Abby Huntsman<\/strong>, Joy Behar<\/a><\/strong> and Sunny Hostin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

But in between discussing “Hot Topics” and interviewing everyone from politicians to reality stars, Meghan has found a way to spark a conversation about grieving that hasn’t been talked about before.<\/p>\n

When looking on Meghan’s social media pages<\/a>, you will likely find throwback photos with her family. What comes next are honest, candid, real feelings that many can relate to when going through the grieving process.<\/p>\n

“I still miss you every hour. Time feels slow, like being underwater\u2014I try and fill the days distracting myself from how painful it all still is. I cannot believe how intense it all still feels\u2014isn’t it supposed to start easing up by now? It hasn’t,” Meghan wrote on Instagram<\/a> 139 days after her father’s passing. “Grief keeps a tight and relentless stranglehold. I replay my last few days with you over and over again in my head wishing I had said or done something more or different, I wish I could somehow have stopped death from coming. It doesn’t get easier, I just continue to try to adapt to the amputation and keep moving, breathing, living, fighting.”<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Meghan<\/p>\n

Instagram<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Meghan’s first Election Day<\/a> and Veteran’s Day<\/a> without her father was difficult. The best-selling author revealed from John’s grave site<\/a> that Sundays are when she misses him “the most.” And then there are the ordinary rituals that become extraordinary when a loved one passes away.<\/p>\n

“66 days. I wake up every morning still instinctually trying and reaching to call you on the phone. I miss you so much Dad it physically hurts my heart. I miss your laugh, your voice, your dark sense of humor, the way you always made me feel safe in a world that seems to have lost its way. I miss your dry ribs and grilled chicken. I miss you singing The Beach Boys<\/strong> on the porch,” Meghan shared in a separate Instagram<\/a> post. “I miss waking up and drinking cappuccino and reading the New York Times<\/em> together. I miss your old far side t-shirts and watching John Wayne<\/strong> movies. I miss hiking across the creek to the top of the mountain and watching the black hawks. I miss the way you cooked eggs and bacon. I love you forever. Stay with me.”<\/p>\n

For some, all of the personal stories and memories have been too much to handle. A few have tweeted at Meghan suggesting she “do this in private<\/a>.” When Meghan responds, the individuals have a habit of suddenly deleting their not-so-nice messages.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

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But when one follower told Meghan “you are not that special,” The View<\/em> co-host couldn’t help but explain her mindset.<\/p>\n

“I don’t believe I am special\u2014far from it. There are many of us who are in grief and have lost those they love so deeply,” she explained<\/a>. “But it makes me feel less alone and hopefully others less alone to share the grief process that is still so taboo to some.”<\/p>\n

In a recent interview with\u00a0Porter<\/a><\/em> magazine, Meghan shared that she is in therapy and counseling. She’s tried mediating and has been reading several books from Joan Didion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

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When returning to The View<\/em> for the first time, Meghan thanked all of her co-hosts for constantly supporting her. She also gave credit to Joe Biden<\/a><\/strong>, Joe Lieberman<\/strong> and her faith for keeping her mentally strong.<\/p>\n

“God is real, I wouldn’t be here without my faith,” she shared from the New York City studio.<\/p>\n

But perhaps her open and honest messages about grief are the ultimate signs of strength: strength her father instilled in her for 34 special years.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

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“He made me this tough so I would survive this,” Meghan shared on<\/a> The View<\/em>. “Some men raise their daughters to be seen and not heard. They raise their daughters not to speak out.”<\/p>\n

“Raise strong women,” she continued. “Really, it’s the only thing that is keeping me right now is how tough he made me and he did that and I love him.”<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

via:: E! Online<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Heidi Gutman\/ABC via Getty Images “If there’s one thing I’m doing in 2019, it’s to continue to destigmatize talking about grief, death and cancer. My father shared his life in public. I share it in death.” When Meghan McCain shared those words on Twitter, it was much more than a New Year’s resolution. In actuality, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-268209","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-19 14:12:20","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KIDN - The Lift FM","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268209\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kidn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}