Wynonna Judd on Sunday (May 29) opened up about the death of her mother and singing partner, Naomi Judd, who died by suicide April 30 following a long struggle with mental health issues.
In a heartfelt Instagram post, she wrote about the pain of her mother’s death and her feelings of helplessness. First asking “WHAT DO I KNOW?” — imagining her life coach was asking her that very question — she proceeded to answer it in several ways.
“I DO know, that the pain of losing Mom on 4/30 to suicide is so great, that I often feel like I’m not ever going to be able to fully accept and surrender to the truth that she left the way she did,” she wrote. “This cannot be how The Judds story ends,” adding a heartbroken emoji.
She also said she was committed to her own “personal healing” and vowed “to break the cycle of addiction & family dysfunction,” especially for her first grandchild, born April 13.
“I DO know, that I feel so helpless—right now especially,” she added. “I DO know, that as corny as it sounds, ‘Love Can Build A Bridge.’ I find myself humming the song that Mom wrote for the fans, to myself here on the farm at night.”
She added that she won’t hesitate to ask for help if she needs it.
“I really DO know, that I’m not able to do this grieving thing all by myself, and that it’s okay to reach out for help,” she wrote. “I will continue to fight for my faith, for my SELF, for my family, and I WILL continue to show up & sing.”
Wynonna’s sister, Ashley Judd, also opened up about Naomi’s death in an interview with Good Morning America earlier this month.
“Our mother couldn’t hang on until she was inducted into the Hall of Fame by her peers,” Ashley said. “That is the level of catastrophe of what was going on inside of her, because the barrier between the regard in which they held her couldn’t penetrate into her heart, and the lie the disease told her was so convincing.”
Read Wynonna’s full post below.
This article originally appeared in THR.com.
