Mom's Last Letter: 'Bad News Is, Apparently, I'm Dead'

36-year-old mom Heather McManamy writes a poignant farewell
By Luke Roney,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 21, 2015 9:20 AM CST
Updated Dec 26, 2015 5:45 PM CST
Mom's Last Letter: 'Bad News Is, Apparently, I’m Dead'
Jeff, Brianna, and Heather McManamy are shown in this photo.   (Facebook)

"The bad news is, apparently, I'm dead. Good news, if you're reading this, is that you are most definitely not." So begins Heather McManamy's goodbye letter. The 36-year-old Wisconsin mom died from cancer recently, Redbook reports, and her husband, Jeff, posted the inspiring letter to Facebook on her behalf. McManamy told ABC News in July that she received a terminal diagnosis in August 2014 and then began to write greeting cards for her 4-year-old daughter, Brianna, marking everything from her first breakup to her wedding day. They are "this physical representation of this is all of the stuff I'm going to miss," she said. McManamy's memoir, Cards for Brianna: A Lifetime of Lessons and Love from a Dying Mother to Her Daughter, is set to be released in April.

Highlights from McManamy's poignant goodbye:

  • "Yes, this sucks. It sucks beyond words, but I'm just so damn glad I lived a life so full of love, joy and amazing friends. I have zero regrets and I spent every ounce of energy I had living life to the fullest."
  • "Don't say I lost to cancer. Because cancer may have taken almost everything from me, but it never took my love or my hope or my joy. I didn't lose, dammit. The way I lived for years with cancer is something I consider a pretty big victory."
  • "Please tell Brianna stories, so she knows how much I love her and how proud of her I will always be (and make me sound waaay cooler than I am). Because I love nothing more than being her mommy. Nothing."
  • "Please do me a favor and take a few minutes each day to acknowledge the fragile adventure that is this crazy life. Don't ever forget: every day matters."
Her entire letter is here. (This obit saluted a 94-year-old potty-mouthed mom.)

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