'Queen of the Mommy Bloggers' Dead at 47

Partner says Heather Armstrong died by suicide
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 10, 2023 7:30 PM CDT
'Queen of the Mommy Bloggers' Dead at 47
This image released by Peter Ashdown shows a selfie of Heather Armstrong in Salt Lake City on April 1, 2023.   (Peter Ashdown via AP)

Heather Armstrong, known as "queen of the mommy bloggers" at the height of her blogging career, died Tuesday at her home in Salt Lake City, her longtime partner Pete Ashdown said. She was 47. Ashdown told the AP that Armstrong died by suicide and that he found the body. He said she had been sober for 18 months but recently relapsed. Armstrong chronicled her struggles with alcoholism and depression—as well as the highs and lows of marriage and parenthood—at her Dooce.com website.

Armstrong's website had more than 8 million viewers a month in 2009, the year she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and published memoir "It Sucked and then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown and a Much Needed Margarita." Armstrong started the website in 2001, while she was working in the tech industry in Los Angeles, the New York Times reports. She was fired in 2002 for blogging about her company—spawning the term "dooced"—and returned to Salt Lake City, Variety reports. Ads, sponsored posts, and speaking fees made her blog increasingly lucrative as the medium grew in popularity.

Fans expressed sadness Wednesday, though many said they had moved away from the blog in recent years, NBC reports. "It's shocking to hear Heather Armstrong died yesterday," tweeted author Roxane Gay. "It’s hard to put into words just how influential she was to the blogosphere. I hope she is at peace, and that her children and loved ones are finding solace where they can." (If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.)

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