Martin Short has spent decades making audiences laugh, but the comedian has also lived through more loss than most people could imagine. Now, as he reflects on his life in the Netflix documentary Marty, Life Is Short, Short is opening up about the way he has dealt with grief — and why therapy has never been part of that journey.

For Short, though, grieving has never meant that something needed to be fixed.

Martin Short remembers being just 12 when his older brother d*** in a car accident. By the time he was 20, both of his parents had also passed away. Decades later, Short would face the devastating loss of his wife, Nancy Dolman, who d*** from cancer in 2010, followed by the death of his daughter Katherine earlier this year. Through all of it, he said, therapy was never something he turned to. Instead, he found ways to keep moving, whether that meant biking around Hamilton, Ontario, or painting and writing when he was young.

“I’m sad now, but you know what? I should be sad now....It’s OK to be sad...You learn to do it,” Short told IndieWire, explaining that friends and family have continued to be the people who help him through periods of grief.

Speaking to IndieWire, Short explained that he does not believe therapy has no place in dealing with difficult emotions. He said he would seek professional help if he ever found himself suddenly depressed or in despair without understanding why. But he does not see sadness itself as something that needs to be escaped. That perspective also extends to how Short keeps the people he has lost present in his life. He described grief as continuing the conversation with someone who has died, knowing what they would say and holding on to the relationship they shared.

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It is a fitting way to understand Marty, Life Is Short, a documentary that looks beyond the tragedies in Short’s life to the friendships, memories and relationships that helped shape the man he became.

The belief — that grief is not something to erase, but something to carry with you — also comes through in Marty, Life Is Short, Lawrence Kasdan’s documentary about Short’s life and career. The film combines archival footage, never-before-seen home movies, and interviews with the comedian’s friends and collaborators. It is currently streaming on Netflix.

Short admitted that watching the rough cut was difficult and said the documentary was not “healing” for him. Instead, it reminded him of the importance of keeping those memories and conversations alive. After everything he has endured, Short’s approach is remarkably simple: grief does not always need to be conquered. Sometimes, it simply needs to be felt.

What ultimately makes Short’s story so moving is that, even after everything he has lost, he has never stopped finding reasons to keep going. His career, his friendships and the memories he carries with him have all become part of that journey — and Marty, Life Is Short gives audiences a rare chance to see the person behind the laughter.

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Martin Short’s perspective raises an interesting question: do we always need to find a way out of grief, or can accepting that some pain is simply meant to be felt be its own form of healing? Let us know what you think in the comments!