Legendary country music star Garth Brooks‘ daughter Allie Colleen Brooks is opening up about her greatest fear in the wake of icon Dolly Parton’s death at age 80.
“My greatest fear in life is the day my Dad loses his life and I have to see the world mourn a man they never knew the way I knew him,” Allie, 30, wrote via Instagram earlier this week. “To the personal family and friends of Mrs. Dolly you have all my love and condolences today and forever going forward.”
She continued, “What a huge, beautiful, special life to have loved and to grief. Thank you for sharing her with us all.”
Allie, a country singer and songwriter in her own right, captioned the post, “What a beautiful privilege it is to mourn.. to grieve is to know you loved deeply and fully. To the woman we all loved and to those who grief for her — I love you all. Please respect the family and her personal friends.”
Us confirmed on Tuesday, August 25, that the legendary country music star died after a private and brief battle with an undisclosed type of cancer.
“My sister was one of the most generous, thoughtful and kind people I’ve ever known,” the country star’s sister, Stella Parton, said when breaking her silence in the wake of her sibling’s death.
“What the world saw is exactly who she was, so much so, she told me recently that their was no hope for her, she would still allow her medical team to try experimental drugs in the hope of helping others in the future,” she wrote via social media at the time.
In honor of Dolly’s legacy, Garth — who shares Allie and her siblings Taylor and August with his ex-wife Sandy Mahl — and his current wife and fellow singer Trisha Yearwood announced September 25 will be “Dolly Day’ at their Nashville bar, Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk, with all profits going towards children’s literacy.
Allie’s public confession in the wake of Dolly’s death received mixed reactions from her many followers, with some condemning her statement as selfish while others — including children of other country music stars — offered their solidarity in the comments section.
“No one is allowed to be sad except the family? That’s wild,” one user wrote, prompting a response from the country singer’s daughter.
“This is my account – I am saying I don’t know how to respond to these things in my industry because of my life experiences,” she wrote. “I’m not telling anyone else how to grieve. I’m just acknolwedging the family. You do you babe.”
Mackenzie Adkins, daughter of fellow country music star Trace Adkins, wrote, “I’m more of an avoidant when it comes to fears like this. But that is very very scary and real for my sisters and I. Thank you for explaining it better than I could.”
“I know you understand babe,” Allie responded. “Should the day come — we’ll get through it.”
