Remembering Joan Rivers: Melissa Rivers Discusses Life After Her Mother's Sudden Passing

It’s been eight months since Joan Rivers' tragic death, but that hasn’t stopped her daughter Melissa Rivers or her grandson Cooper from keeping her memory alive. The comedic legend died suddenly at the age of 81 in September after going in to have a routine scoping of her throat. According to the New York Post, the surgeon made the unauthorized decision to biopsy a growth on her vocal cords which ultimately lead to her death.

More than half a year later, Melissa says she and her 14-year-old son miss the late TV star more than ever. The 47-year-old told People she has not yet “let myself imagine life without her.” She added that it’s the simple things, like not having anyone to call when she arrives somewhere safely, that remind her of Joan the most.

“Who do you call and say you got there safely? Even if it’s the middle of the night?” Melissa asked. “That’s when it really hits me. Getting in the car at the airport, and, you know, ‘Who do I call?’”

She added that making major decisions, like changing her hair, has been difficult without her mom around to give her brutally honest opinions. And while Joan is no longer physically present, Melissa says she still makes her feelings on certain matters known.

“Everybody asks me, ‘Don’t you feel her presence?’ I do, but I don’t. She’ll leave me alone until I do something that really pisses her off, like cut bangs,” she shared.

The loss of her mother, whose off-the-cuff jokes were once a staple on E!’s “Fashion Police,” hasn’t just been hard on Melissa. The single mother says her son Cooper “has lost his partner in crime.” She recalled the fond memories he and Joan shared saying, “He would get away with everything.”

“I would say to her, ‘Are you really trying to undermine all my authority?’ And she’d say, ‘Yeah, pretty much. Being a grandparent is the best because it’s all of the fun and none of the crap.’”

Melissa has decided to honor her mother by writing a book, titled “The Book of Joan: Tales of Mirth, Mischief and Manipulation.” While the book is full of hilarious anecdotes about her mother, it also tells of Melissa’s loving upbringing. Melissa says it “was very, very cathartic” to pen the memoir.