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For 11 years, television host/producer/author Melissa Rivers, 57, had a goal: to make sure her mother, comedy legend Joan Rivers, got the tribute she deserved after her tragic death at 81

following a minor medical procedure in 2014. “She was prolific. She was groundbreaking,” Rivers says of her mother during a phone interview with AARP. “To the day she died, she was

relevant.”  Rivers is finally fulfilling that quest on May 13 with _Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute_ on NBC. The show will feature stars including Rita Wilson, 68, Bill Maher, 69,

Sandra Bernhard, 69, Chelsea Handler, 50, Neil Patrick Harris, 51, Tiffany Haddish, Tracy Morgan, 56, and Patton Oswalt, 56. The special was filmed at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater in

November.  However, this moment of love and remembrance is tempered by a fresh tragedy. Rivers is dealing with the aftermath of the devastating Palisades Fire in Los Angeles earlier this

year, which destroyed her home and many of her valued possessions. “I am haunted by a few things that we didn’t take,” she says. “I could have gone back and gotten more things, but to be

honest, we never thought [the fire] would reach our house.”  The _Fashion Police_ alum, who married attorney Steve Mitchel, 63, in March, spoke with AARP about how her family is coping

following the fire; the “private” Joan we didn’t know; and how she’s looking at her next decade. _This interview has been edited for length and clarity._ I’M SO SORRY YOU LOST YOUR HOME IN

THE PALISADES FIRE IN JANUARY. HOW ARE YOU DOING?  Our state of mind is good. We ended up moving three times during the fire, but a total of five times in the last three months. So it’s the

first time I feel like I can take a breath and start to learn where I’m going to put everything. We’re settled for a good chunk of time. That’s a very good feeling. Melissa and Joan Rivers

in the mid-2000s. “She was prolific. She was groundbreaking,” Melissa says of her mom, who passed away in 2014 at the age of 81. “To the day she died, she was relevant.” Courtesy Melissa

Rivers WHAT IS HELPING YOU GET THROUGH IT? DO YOU HEAR YOUR MOM WHISPERING ANYTHING IN YOUR EAR? Absolutely. In our family, we always had this saying, which was, “This too shall pass.” It

works for both good and bad. In the sense of good, it’s appreciated when the good is happening. When the bad is happening, that too shall pass. I always thought it was very smart, because

you have to be aware in both directions.