- [Father's Day letter she wrote for her dad Chris Cornell published on his official website on June 20, 2017] A couple summers ago we were biking around Central Park and you told me that there aren't many truly good people in the world, but that I was one of the few. You always had such firm confidence and pride in what I did, and your warmth and love inspired me to do my best. Now more than ever, I want to live my life to help others as you did. I want to continue to make you proud. Toni, C and I promise to survive, persevere and thrive, as we've always done. I'm so proud to be your baby, I love you more than words can say and I will miss you forever.
Your ladybug, Lily. - [Speech during a tribute concert for her dad Chris Cornell on January 16, 2019] My dad and I often talked about music and our mutual passion for it, and the ways in which it can heal and release our wounds. The most influential advice he gave me was that his success did not come from a desire for success itself, it was more from a passion and an absolute love for what he did. He reminded me often it was an added benefit, but that can never be the driving factor. My dad had a beautiful gift but the most important part of it was that he loved what he did, and he did it because he loved it. I carry this with me not only in music but in everything I do, as have the amazing musicians that you see tonight. They have been there for me since the day I was born, and I'm so honored to be here with them tonight.
- [Post on her Instagram account on July 20, 2020] Today, in honor of my dad's birthday, here is the first episode of Mind Wide Open. I created this interview series with the goal of helping to normalize and destigmatize conversations around mental health, and if it can make even one person feel seen and heard I will have accomplished my goal.
- [Interview with Rolling Stone, August 7, 2020] Mind Wide Open was actually inspiration from my dad. When I was a senior in high school, I was in a poetry class - which is, like, very Seattle [laughs]. We had an assignment where we had to find a [family] archive and write a poem about it. [My dad shared some] lyrics from the Nineties and there was this one stanza in something that [stayed with me]: "Half alive/Heard the most brilliant lie/Sleep is eyes closed to the light/Death is the mind wide open." And that's something that stuck with me. It just resonated with me so intensely.
When it comes to mental health and launching this series in honor of my dad, there are so many other ways to have your mind wide open. Having these conversations with other people and destigmatizing the conversation around mental health is a way for me to have my mind be wide open. So I think losing someone very traumatically, and struggling with my own suicidal ideation, inspired me to think of what are other ways that you can allow your mind to be wide open. And this series is definitely one of them. - [Interview with Rolling Stone, August 7, 2020] You need to have someone you can be open with and not worry that they're going to feel burdened by it or judge you for it. My mom is absolutely that person for me as well.
- [The Seattle Times, July 29, 2020] My mom Susan Silver worked hard to make sure that I had a normal childhood and cultivated an environment where I never felt ashamed or worried about sharing my feelings. I will tell anybody anything, especially when it comes to mental health.
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