'A pocketful of happiness': Richard E Grant's wife's touching last words to him before she died
LONDON, UK: Actor Richard E Grant's forthcoming book 'A Pocketful of Happiness' celebrates his life's unexpected moment as he reminisces over the present and past flashbacks an immensely personal memoir with anecdotes of his late wife Joan Washington.
"And she said to me, just before she died, 'You’re going to be all right try to find a pocketful of happiness in every single day!', and I’m just so grateful for almost four decades that we had together and the gift that is our daughter," Richard E Grant shared a heartfelt post on Instagram for his beloved wife.
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'Persuasion' on Netflix: How Richard E Grant first met his late wife Joan Washington
The British actor Richard E Grant and his late wife Joan Washington met and fell in love just like in every romantic novel even though Joan was married to someone else. Joan died on September 2021, after which sorrowful Richard took to Twitter to express his love for his wife and the beautiful gift of a daughter she left behind. "ONLY YOU!Joan – Love of my Life & Giver of Life to our daughter Olivia. Our hearts are broken with the loss of your Life last night. 35 years married & 38 together," the actor tweeted alongside a clip of him and his wife of 35 years. A journalist once asked Richard, "What was the secret for managing to stay together for almost four decades, especially in show business," and his reply was immediate and simple. "We began a conversation in 1983 and we never stopped talking, or sleeping together in the same bed."
For Richard the Covid times turned out to be a "blessing in disguise because my wife and I spent nine months, after our 38 years together, with each other every minute of the day and night, and then had eight months together for the last months of her life, this year." He said in the Instagram post he shared on December 31, 2021. She said to me, just before she died, 'You’re going to be all right try to find a pocketful of happiness in every single day', and I’m just so grateful for almost four decades that we had together and the gift that is our daughter. So, on that note, Happy New Year to you." Honoring his wife’s decree became his New Year’s resolution and mantra. Whenever I waver towards the canyon of grief, Joan’s instruction pings across my cranium."
Grant met his wife in an accent coach class. During Joan’s illness, writing was the "only vestige of control" he had as her health declined each day. "I wanted a record of everything we shared, ‘for better or for worse, in sickness and in health’, honouring our marriage vows," that was made on November 1, 1986. When his beloved wife Joan died in 2021 after almost 40 years together, she set him a challenge, to find a pocketful of happiness in every day. The book is set to release on September 29, 2022.