A Massachusetts writer who battled ALS left her loved ones a final story: A tongue-in-cheek, self-penned obituary that has won legions of fans online.
“Well, if you are reading this obituary, it looks like I’m dead,” Linda Brossi Murphy wrote. “WOW, it actually happened… I died of FOMO due to complications of Bulbar ALS.”
Murphy, a Framingham native, died September 21 at the age of 60, which she noted was “way too young!”. She died after a three-year struggle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a rare condition that destroys nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that are needed to talk, walk, swallow, and breathe. There is no cure for ALS, and most people live three to five years after diagnosis.
“My stupid Bulbar ALS got me to the sad point of not being able to talk. Never speaking means never being able to say, ‘I love you!’ It means not being able to call my Mr. BoJangles over for a snack, and it means not being able to order at the Dunkin’ drive-through,” Murphy wrote.
Murphy lamented that it “totally stinks” to be surrounded by loved ones enjoying “juicy burgers” or “heaping piles of Chinese food,” when she isn’t able to participate.
She wrote that living became “an overwhelming burden every day, day after day,” but that she did her best not to let anyone know about her “daily suffering” and “struggles” with the terminal disease.
Later in the obituary, she joked that she and her husband, David, had been together for 42 years, but had recently entered a “thruple” when her respirator “Hosee” moved into their bed.
“From then on, David woke up next to what looked like a fighter pilot with smooshed hair!” she wrote.
Murphy paid tribute to her “wonderful family,” who she said were “the absolute best thing about my life.”
Before she was diagnosed with ALS in 2022, Murphy was fought breast cancer in 2012 and survived. She also turned to humor when battling the disease, writing a book titled “F-Off Cancer” to show people can still have fun even after being diagnosed with cancer.
“My favorite pastime was being with my family & friends, hence why FOMO [fear of missing out] did me in! I also adored having fun, anytime, anywhere! No matter what I was doing, I had fun,” she wrote. “I was a very happy person to the core.”
Murphy then urged anyone reading to “say ‘yes’ to the party, the trip, the adventure – and while you are there, please raise a glass and ‘Cheers’ for me!”
“Please be kind to everyone: the telemarketer, the grocery clerk, the Dunkin’s staff, the tailgater, your family, your friends. Speak nicely and positively. Is there really ever a reason to be negative? I don’t think so…” she wrote.
In addition to urging people to be kind, Murphy requested that they don’t buy her flowers.
“PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don’t waste money on flowers,” she wrote. “Buy a bunch of scratch tickets and give them out to strangers along your way. Make people happy, that is the best way that you can honor my memory,” she wrote.
Murphy had her brain and spinal cord donated for ALS research. She asked that, in place of flowers, people should consider donating to Compassionate Care ALS, noting the organization “has helped me and so many others live a better life while struggling with ALS.”
In the days after her death, Murphy’s obituary has been shared far and wide online, drawing attention both locally and nationally. In addition to penning her last words, the comedic writer also picked out her own casket, chose the music at her funeral and planned a dance party in her own honor, CBS News Boston reported.
“She was the life of the party. She was the party,” her daughter, Justine Hastings, said with a laugh. “One of my favorite comments was, ‘I just read this, and I just wish I could have had a glass of wine with her.’”
Commenters from all over the world agreed with her daughter, with many writing in from various U.S. states and countries as far as India that they were moved by her words.
“Wow! What an AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, LOVING and inspiring person she was, a beautiful spirit!!!” one commentator wrote, later adding that they “literally snorted laughing while almost crying” while reading.
“Your obituary was absolutely perfect. It sounds like you lived a great life and you also sounded very brave. I have a very dear friend who was diagnosed with the same ALS as you were we were devastated when we found out, but we’re staying strong for him. You definitely sound like you lived your life like he lived his. He’s still with us but struggles every day but we stay positive. The best medicine is laughter. We try to get him to laugh every day. May you rest in peace you are definitely with the angels,” another person wrote.
“I’m sitting in India and reading this obituary. I don’t know you but I wish I did. I wish I could have told you just how much I admire your outlook and your strength. I truly hope you find peace in the abyss and if a concept of multiple lives exist, you have the most wholesome peaceful and joyous one in your next,” one person wrote.
Another added: “Wow, This was touching. I never met her but I sure wish I had. I hope you are dancing the night away and eating all that you can.”
Linda Murphy’s full obituary can be found here.
