Photo: Anne Heche/Instagram

Anne Heche with son Atlas

Anne Heche’s 13-year-old son is publicly paying tribute to his mother for the first time, nearly six months after shediedfollowing acar crash.

Atlas Heche Tupper remembered the late actress as “the brightest person I’ve ever known” in a touching tribute published on Tuesday, in honor of the release date of his mom’s new memoir,Call Me Anne.

“She always knew how to solve a problem, or help a friend,” he said in a statement shared with the Los Angeles Inquisitor. “She always knew the right thing to do. I cannot put into words how grateful I am or how much I miss her.”

Anne Heche.Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage

anne heche

Atlas' fatherJames Tupper— who dated Heche from 2007 to 2018 — also shared his memories of the late star.

“Anne and I were together for more than a decade, we have a beautiful son together and in that time, she was the very definition of light in our lives, always bringing fun, love and energy,” he shared. “She will always be remembered in our hearts and minds.”

The duo’s tributes come after Heche’s older son,Homer Laffoon— whom Heche shared with ex-husbandColeman Laffoon— thanked the public for their “support” ahead of the release ofhis mom’s memoir.

Anne Heche and homer Laffoon.Rachel Murray/Getty

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Homer, 20, also spoke about her new book,Call Me Anne, which Heche had been working on for months leading up to her death. The memoir is a follow-up to Heche’s 2001 bookCall Me Crazy.

“I have a responsibility to share with her community what she was working on and how excited she would have been to tell you herself,” he wrote. “The book is the product of mom’s further efforts to share her story and to help others where she could. Call Me Anne is the result and I know she was excited to share with the world.”

“So, mom, here I am sharing it with the community you created, may it flourish and take on a life of its own, as you would have wanted,” he added.

Heche was 53 years old when she was involved in a devastatingcar crashon Aug. 5. The Emmy Award-winning actressremained in a comafor nearly a week before being declaredlegally deadin the state of California on Aug. 11. Her heart continued to beat until Aug. 14 in order to ensure her organs could be donated in accordance with her wishes.

In the months following her death, Heche’s son Homer became entangled in amonths-long legal battlewith Tupper, 57, over who would take legal control over Heche’s remaining assets.

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Call Me Anneis now available for purchase.

source: people.com