Patton Oswalt remembers late wife in essay
Patton Oswalt wrote a beautiful tribute to his late wife -- but according to the comedian, she would have done a better job.
"The pulling in of you, the reader, was never aggressive, calculating or desperate," he writes in Time. "She didn't have to raise her voice."
Oswalt's wife, Michelle McNamara, died on April 21 in her sleep, just one week after her 46th birthday. McNamara was a true crime author who wrote for her blog, TrueCrimeDiary.com and Los Angeles Magazine. She was working on a book on the Golden State Killer for Harper Collins when she died.
Oswalt's essay is half obituary and half love letter. He outlines her accomplishments, like working for Michelle Obama, teaching and doing social work, while also talking about the impact her death has left on their family.
"Her family is devastated but can't help remember all of the times she made them laugh or comforted them, and they smile and laugh themselves," he writes. "She hasn't left a void. She's left a blast crater."
In a particularly moving anecdote, Oswalt talks about how he's proud to see the legacy his wife has left through his daughter.
He writes that his daughter said, "'When your mom dies you're the best memory of her. Everything you do and say is a memory of her,'" and concludes with, "That's the kind of person Michelle created and helped shape. That was Michelle. That is Michelle. I love her."
