{"id":20961,"date":"2021-09-19T04:37:59","date_gmt":"2021-09-18T23:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/sarah-harding-was-a-total-stranger-to-me-but-my-tears-for-her-are-important\/"},"modified":"2021-09-19T04:39:07","modified_gmt":"2021-09-18T23:09:07","slug":"sarah-harding-was-a-total-stranger-to-me-but-my-tears-for-her-are-important","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/sarah-harding-was-a-total-stranger-to-me-but-my-tears-for-her-are-important\/","title":{"rendered":"Sarah Harding was a total stranger to me but my tears for her are important"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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WHEN I heard that\u00a0Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding had died, I cried. <\/strong><\/p>\n

I could blame\u00a0this on a multitude of reasons \u2013 lack of sleep, hormones, it being a Monday morning \u2013 but it wasn\u2019t any of those things. <\/p>\n

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I felt inexplicably sad, even though I\u2019d never met her, writes Kate Wills<\/span>Credit: Lancton<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I felt inexplicably sad, even though I\u2019d never met her, have no connection to her, haven\u2019t even seen\u00a0Girls Aloud in concert (although watching the sultry video for Sound Of The Underground as a teenager made a big impression on me).\u00a0<\/p>\n

I felt a bit silly about my waterworks, but it wasn\u2019t a new feeling. I\u2019d sobbed over Amy Winehouse, felt deeply shocked about Caroline Flack, and was bruised by the deaths of Brittany Murphy, Jade Goody, Prince, David Bowie\u2026 the list goes on.<\/p>\n

Even though I was not familiar with these people, I felt a deep sadness when I heard about their deaths. In some cases I read news reports to find out more or I texted friends to learn how they felt. <\/p>\n

Sometimes I wondered what the famous person\u2019s loved ones were going through. Often I\u2019d project myself into the story in some remote way. She was only a few more years old than me! She was my soundtrack to uni!\u00a0She was a Tesco employee, I believe. And so on.<\/p>\n

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In many instances, it\u2019s simply the shock of it, the sense of someone being taken way too soon \u2013 in Sarah Harding\u2019s case, just 39 and dying from breast cancer.<\/p>\n

Kate Wills<\/span><\/cite><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In many instances, it\u2019s simply the shock of it, the sense of someone being taken way too soon \u2013 in Sarah Harding\u2019s case, just 39 and dying from breast cancer. It can be so much more. It could be because they are famous. We think their lives of beauty and fame must have made them immortal.<\/p>\n

We had never seen photos of Princess Diana, so it was obvious that there was a lot of emotion. I am effected by the news of her death. <\/p>\n

Instantly, I’m transported back to August 1997. As I woke up in my childhood bedroom, I overheard my sister and mum talking about it. <\/p>\n

I can recall my tiny mind racing over who must have died to cause this reaction in them. I remember watching the footage of the flower mounds and feeling the urge to join the crowds of mourners with red eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prince Harry has spoken out about how mad he was to see the world mourn his mom. She may have been \u201cThe People\u2019s Princess\u201d but I\u2019m not surprised he thought: \u201cThis is my mum. You never even met her.\u201d It made me question whether it\u2019s even appropriate for us to mourn famous people, especially if that impinges on the private grief of those who really loved and knew them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We now see collective grief on social media when celebrities die. People post RIP tweets. When a famous person\u2019s death makes us feel sad, it\u2019s often because they meant something, however small, to us. <\/p>\n

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Whether your way of dealing with it is a tweet, a bunch of flowers or just your thoughts, I reckon it\u2019s important \u2013 not silly \u2013 to just lean in and feel it. RIP Sarah<\/p>\n

Kate Wills<\/span><\/cite><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And there\u2019s something beautiful about that. Maybe celebrity deaths teach us how to process grief on this removed from-the-sidelines level, so that when someone who is close to us dies, we\u2019ve had some practice.<\/p>\n

Celebrities may be the closest to public grieving. We are terrible at discussing death in this country. So whether your way of dealing with it is\u00a0a tweet, a bunch of flowers or just your thoughts, I reckon it\u2019s important \u2013 not silly \u2013 to just lean in and feel it. Sarah, RIP.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u25cf Follow Kate on Instagram @katewillswrites<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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This week I\u2019m…<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Watching\u2026<\/strong>\u00a0Only Murders In The Building. Selena Gomez\u2019s Disney+ hit about crime-obsessed neighbs is binge-worthy.<\/p>\n

Loving\u2026<\/strong> By Rotation. I rented a The Vampire\u2019s Wife dress for a wedding for a fraction of the cost of the real thing \u2013 and got tons of compliments!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sipping\u2026\u00a0<\/strong>Twelve Below. The low-sugar tonics and sparkling drinks are a great switch for booze (or mixer for your G&T).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Holly Willoughby pays tribute to Sarah Harding, who died from breast cancer.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n