You Have Always Been My Inspiration

On this fourth anniversary of Greg’s death, I came to Glasgow to visit the Linda McCartney Retrospective photo exhibition. I came to be freshly inspired by this memorial to one of the best-known modern animal rights activists — and to be inspired by the heart behind the memorial, her surviving husband Sir Paul McCartney, who has never stopped honoring Linda’s legacy in the 21 years since her death.

In April 1998 when Linda died, Sir Paul wrote:

Today, it can be said that in memorializing Linda, Sir Paul is practicing the “Two-Track Model”. Using a metaphor from the computing world, this model says that even as Sir Paul proceeds with life, he concurrently maintains a continuously running “relationship to the deceased ‘application’.”

Sir Paul has continued making music, cherishing surviving loved ones, and forming new relationships — even as he has continued to honor Linda both by sharing her photographic work through initiatives like this exhibition, and by promoting vegan and animal rights initiatives through leading Meat Free Monday and supporting People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Back in July 2013, Greg and I had the honor of a lifetime when, in connection with our own advocacy for animals and veganism, we were invited backstage alongside Ingrid Newkirk and Dr. Neal Barnard to meet Sir Paul before a Nationals Park concert.

During the concert, McCartney introduced some songs with dedications to his new wife Nancy Shevell. Others, like “Maybe I’m Amazed,” he dedicated to Linda. I remember that Greg and I held hands as we basked in the performance of that piece.

After Greg’s death in October 2015, as I began struggling to go on living without my spouse of 23 years, Sir Paul’s example seemed an obvious one for me to emulate as best I could.

In the four years since, I have striven to honor my late husband by sharing the love for all beings that inspired our shared commitment to veganism and the rights of animals — and by continuing through this Fund to support organizations like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Animal Place and Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary that were a major part of our shared life.