Linkin Park's Chester Bennington 'struggled with 'hour-by-hour' addiction in months before death'
Linkin Park's former lead singer Chester Bennington died by suicide aged 41 in 2017. He reportedly struggled with 'hour-by-hour' addiction in the months leading up to his death
A new book has claimed Linkin Park's Chester Bennington struggled with an 'hour-by-hour' battle with addiction in the months leading up to his suicide.
The Numb singer was found dead by a housekeeper in his bedroom at his Los Angeles home on July 20, 2017. A coroner later ruled he had taken his own life.
The Grammy Award-winning musician had battled with depression and substance abuse for years before his death. A brand-new book, titled It Starts With One: The Legend and Legacy of Linkin Park, shares the legendary singer's final days through the lens of his family and friends. It was written that Chester said he had a strong urge to drink again in the final months leading up to his death.
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"While publicly discussing his general difficulties with life during the One More Light press run, he was privately telling loved ones about a specific problem: the urge to drink had consumed his thoughts once again," an excerpt, obtained by People, from the new book said.
"'He was describing an hour-by-hour battle with addiction,' said Ryan Shuck, Chester’s close friend who had helped turn one of his bleakest periods during the 2000s into the lone Dead by Sunrise album and who had been texting with him about his alcoholism in the weeks leading up to his death."
The book, written by Jason Lipshutz and set for release on October 1, continued: "When an autopsy and toxicology report later confirmed that Chester had a trace amount of alcohol in his system at the time of his death — he had been discovered with an empty bottle of Stella Artois in the room as well as a glass of Corona that was less than half full — Talinda was not surprised. She had immediately understood that those beer bottles represented are lapse. 'I knew instantly that that drink triggered that shame,' she said, 'triggered a lifetime of unhealthy neural pathways.'"
Chester once opened up about relapsing while the band was making their One More Light album. His relapse included an 'extended period of drinking' towards the end of 2016. His wife Talinda said he was sober for six months before his death. He was with his wife and their three children in Arizona in his final days.
However, he told her he had work and returned to Los Angeles by himself, with the star taking a final photo of him with his kids before leaving. Talinda said in 2018: "He was happy. He gave me a kiss goodbye, he gave the kids a kiss goodbye and I never saw him again."
*If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch
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