Rob Delaney gives an honest, heartfelt interview about the grief of losing his son

"Over time it just became more and more about love."
 By 
Sam Haysom
 on 
A man in a shirt and blazer sits in a talk show seat.
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Almost five years go, in January 2018, Rob Delaney's son Henry died at the age of two after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.

The comedian and actor has been open about his grief on social media, and has most recently written a book, A Heart That Works, about the journey he and his family have been through. In the extended Late Show interview above with Stephen Colbert, Delaney speaks about the experience, charting his own emotional journey after Henry died and how writing the book made him feel.

"I started off very angry," Delaney says. "When I first started writing this book I was like, 'I want to hurt people. I want to pummel people. Somebody went to the bookstore for entertainment? Well they deserve to be punished by my book about my sadness and my anger.' And then over time it just became more and more about love. So it was very educational for me."

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Sam Haysom

Sam Haysom is the Deputy UK Editor for Mashable. He covers entertainment and online culture, and writes horror fiction in his spare time.


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