Chester Bennington’s widow Talinda recently sat down with Anderson Cooper on 360 to discuss Chester, her work with mental health, and the 320 Change Direction organization. In the interview, Talinda said that her continued work with mental health and suicide prevention is because she
“It killed me inside to think that his death would be the way he was remembered. And for our kids, when our girls were old enough to understand how their dad died, I never wanted them to say ‘he died by suicide’ and be ashamed of saying that. So I knew that there was a lot of work to do because in the current climate, it felt very shameful… and I wanted to do what I could to make a different with that.”
Talinda also spoke about Chester and how he seemed during the months leading up to his death.
“That was probably the most terrifying thing to realize after he had died… was to just look back and think of almost how foolish we were to think that he was so okay, because outwardly he seemed so okay.”
“He’s not here to speak for himself to let us know how he felt in those moments or leading up to it, but I can tell you, as his wife and as his best friend, the last six months, he truly was at his best. And he was doing all he could to stay healthy and sober. (There was a) guitar that he picked up and had with him all the time. That was his meditation… he carried that thing with him everywhere.”
Talinda also spoke about the upcoming 320 Change Direction Festival who’s goal is:
“320 Festival’s mission is to help bring awareness to the importance of our mental health and provide attendees the resources they need to better care for their emotional well-being and the well-being of those they love.
This one-day festival will take place on May 9, 2020 at L.A. Live and feature a Community Festival, Mental Health Summit, and Benefit Concert. 15,000 people through out the day will join us in making a change.”
You can watch the entire conversation HERE.
