'Paradise' star’s father held a gun to her head at only six years old
“Paradise” star Sarah Shahi is opening up about a traumatic childhood moment.
In her new book, “Life Is Lifey: The A to Z’s on Navigating Life’s Messy Middle,” Shahi detailed a terrifying experience in which her father almost took her life. "My father, God bless his soul, was a drug addict. He was abusive not only to my mother, but one fateful summer afternoon, to me, too,” she wrote, per Entertainment Weekly.
In the middle of what Shahi described as a “bad episode,” her father made a decision that almost killed her. "He took me outside, held me on his hip, and held a gun to my head. I was six and don't remember anything prior to this moment. But I remember what happened after. I remember how cold the metal was against my temple. I remember the way he held me, his head hung low, too heavy to lift, as silent tears ran down his face," she wrote.
During the incident, Shahi said her dad repeatedly told her she was "too good, too pure, to be living in this world," and that "it was time for us to 'go home' together.” As the “Chicago Fire” actress saw it, "His drug-fueled plan was clear: kill me then himself. In his twisted mind, my mother would follow, taking her own life in despair."
Luckily, Shahi’s mother stepped in and saved her life. Once her mother realized something was wrong, she immediately took action. "She moved toward him quietly, with a gentleness as if she were approaching a wounded animal, fragile and sacred," Shahi wrote. "I don’t remember her exact words, only the murmur of her voice. She reached for the gun, her hand open and waiting, and he surrendered it to her, the metal slipping into her palm as he crumbled, collapsing onto her shoulder."
Shahi’s life was saved, but she didn’t realize the severity of the situation at her young age. "Alongside my superhero of a mother, my own innocent naiveté shielded me. At such a tender age, I couldn't fully grasp the gravity of what was unfolding, but for reasons I still can't explain, fear never took hold of me. My attention was drawn to him — a certain desperation in his eyes, something so raw that in my six-year-old heart, all I could do was feel for him, and in that strange, innocent way, I felt empathy," she wrote.
Shahi’s book “Life Is Lifey: The A to Z’s on Navigating Life’s Messy Middle” is currently available for purchase.
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