Amanda Kloots discusses her son understanding dad Nick Cordero’s death: ‘He’ll get very, very sad’

Nearly three years after her husband's death, Amanda Kloots says she’s preparing to handle their son Elvis' grief.

At the time of the Broadway actor Nick Cordero’s death, Elvis was just 13 months old. Now 3 years of age, Elvis is the only son of Cordero and Kloots.

“It’s coming, and that’ll be a whole new layer for me and my grief and helping him get through that and understanding that,” the Broadway actor explained in a recent exclusive for People. “So that’s coming up for me. I know it’s not probably too long away.”

Kloots, who was married to Cordero for three years before he died of COVID-19 in 2020, is currently promoting her children’s book “Tell Me Your Dreams.”

“There have been some times where he has gotten sad where we’re talking about Nick, and he says, ‘But Dada died,’” she said. “And then he’ll get very, very sad, which is heartbreaking as a parent, obviously. Because, in a way, I haven’t had yet to deal too much with Elvis’ grief.”

In March 2020, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cordero was admitted to a hospital and diagnosed with the virus. The actor was described as being in critical condition. By April, the actor’s condition worsened when a blood clot was discovered in his right leg leading to its amputation. A month later, the actor was reported to have suffered significant lung damage and was given a tracheostomy to help him breathe. Two months later, after 95 days in the hospital, the actor died at age 41 at the Los Angeles Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in July.

Speaking to People, Kloots shared that her hope for her children’s book “Tell Me Your Dreams" is to help Elvis connect with his father.

“I’m constantly trying to either tell Elvis about his father or what this book does, which is basically saying to Elvis, ‘You’re going to go to sleep, and you don’t have your dad on earth, but you have him in your dreams,’” Kloots explained, noting that she tells their son that dreams can help us connect to lost loved ones. “‘So you get to go on these awesome adventures with your dad, and you can tell me all about it when you wake up. Tell me everything you did and who you saw and what you built and all the things that you got to do with your dad in your dreams.’”

According to Kloots, her book isn’t just for her son. The actor and author emphasized that while writing the book, she also had in mind families who have experienced loss and are learning to process it with the little ones in their lives as well.

“I think this book is a great tool for parents to start introducing that idea to them,” she added. “Where you lost your grandparent, you get to see them in your dreams. You lost your sibling: see them in your dreams. You lost your parent. You get to see them in your dreams. They’re not gone. They’re just a part of your dreams.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com