Going through the grief period of my dad and losing him - that was the worst thing because you know when you get that call. When you are seven, eight years old, you have that almost vision in your mind of what that’s going to be like and what your going to feel like and it doesn’t prepare you.

Sambora reflects on bereavement as an experience that defeats anticipation. Even as a child, he says, you can imagine the dreaded phone call announcing a parent’s death and rehearse the feelings you expect to have—but the reality still overwhelms those mental “preparations.” The quote emphasizes grief’s unpredictability and the gap between imagined suffering and lived loss. It also conveys how early awareness of mortality can shape a person’s emotional life, yet offers no immunity when tragedy arrives. The plain, conversational phrasing underscores the intimacy of the memory and the enduring force of that moment.