The festive season is supposed to be one of joy, good food, and relaxation. But for major Star Wars fans around the world, this season is also a bittersweet one. That's because it's the same time of year where Carrie Fisher, the writer and actress who famously portrayed Princess Leia, died. Fisher had been beloved by the fandom due to her quick wit and talent, and many had found her to be an inspirational figure due to her struggles with drug addiction and bipolar disorder.
Fisher first showed signs of serious illness after boarding commercial flight on December 23, 2016, from London to Los Angeles fifteen minutes before the aircraft landed, she passed out and a fellow passenger was forced to perform CPR on Fisher until paramedics arrived at the scene. Fisher was taken to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and died four days later on the morning of December 27, 2016, after being in intensive care for four days, Fisher died at the age of 60 at the UCLA Medical Center.
Two years later, Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd has taken to Instagram to share a video with her followers of her playing the piano in an emotional tribute to her late mother.
Lourd wrote: "It has been two years since my Momby’s death and I still don’t know what the “right” thing to do on a death anniversary is (I’m sure a lot of you feel the same way about your loved ones). So I decided to do something a little vulnerable for me, but something we both loved to do together - sing. This is the piano her father gave her and this was one of her favourite songs. And as the song says, we must 'keep on moving.'"
She added: "I’ve found that what keeps me moving is doing things that make me happy, working hard on the things that I’m passionate about and surrounding myself with people I love and making them smile. I hope this encourages anyone feeling a little low or lost to 'keep on moving.' As my Momby once said, 'take your broken heart and turn it into art' - whatever that art may be for you."
Fans were touched by Lourd's open display of grief. One Instagram user wrote: "As someone who lost their mother myself a just about 4 years ago, thank you for sharing this. Its so incredibly hard and trying. But I do believe that the ability to keep on moving shows an increased strength in all of us who know this pain." Another person added: "This is amazing you’re a beautiful little blessing! You’ve got our support she is amazingly proud of you as we all are you represent everything right with the world. We love you so much and everyone is so proud of you."
Two years on, Carrie Fisher is still being missed. But it's safe to say that she'll never be forgotten.
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