Will Reeve was just three years old when his father, Superman actor Christopher Reeve, was paralyzed from the neck down in a horse riding accident. Eight years later, after living an inspiring life as a quadriplegic, Christopher died of heart failure in 2004 at the age of 52.

The family was still in mourning when the unthinkable happened: Will’s mother, Dana Reeve, who had cared for her husband with devotion and had been a phenomenal mother to Will, was diagnosed with lung cancer, even though she had never smoked.

Just 17 months after her husband’s death, Dana tragically passed away in March 2006, leaving 13-year-old Will an orphan.

“That’s when I realized that I was completely alone,” says the 32-year-old in the film Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.

However, Will tells PEOPLE that he has received extraordinary support from his family and friends.

“I moved in with our beloved neighbors, who were our best friends,” he explains of what happened next. “And it was such an unlikely, amazing experience for almost 20 years.”

His older half-siblings Matthew and Alexandra also played an important role in his life. They acted as both parental figures and siblings to him.

“Matthew and Al have always been in my life, not just during the difficult times, and they have been a source of great strength, support, joy and love to me,” he says.

“I mean, everyone did it,” he adds. “I think it was a situation where everyone had to pitch in. My maternal grandparents, Charles and Helen Morini, were incredibly indispensable. And we were lucky to live in a tight-knit community. We had big groups of friends and teachers and coaches and people from the past and present who just always pitched in where they could.”

He says: “It’s like they say: it takes a village. And the village has responded to our situation so comprehensively and effectively.”

Although he felt supported and loved, he still missed his mother terribly – and always will.

“My mother was perhaps the most extraordinary person who ever walked this earth,” he says of Dana. “My mother’s penchant for caring and showing compassion to everyone she met was innate. She didn’t have to wake up every day and decide to take care of our family. That’s just who she was.”

He says that he is currently in therapy to help him come to terms with his difficult losses.

“Putting one foot in front of the other doesn’t mean ignoring the problem. It just means you keep going, but you carry the baggage with you and you have to keep going anyway,” Will explains.

He continues, “Grief is permanent. The people we love and lose are gone from this earth forever, but we carry their memories, spirit and values ​​with us forever. And by focusing on the love we feel for the people we have lost, we honor them. And that helps us heal.”

Tickets for Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, Visit Fathom Events.

To read more about the extraordinary life of Christopher Reeve, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE on newsstands Friday.