What if you could write your own ending and make it unforgettable?
Linda Brossi Murphy did just that. Before ALS took her voice, her strength, and ultimately her life, she took control of her story in the most powerful way: by writing her own obituary. And in doing so, she left behind more than just memories. She left a message. A mission. A reminder.
Linda didn’t go quietly. She went out laughing, loving, and leaving a legacy that has touched millions.
A Life Too Big for One Obituary
Linda passed away on September 21, 2025, at just 60 years old after a brutal battle with Bulbar ALS a form of the disease that cruelly strips away a person’s ability to speak and swallow. But Linda refused to let the disease define her.
Her obituary begins the way only she could have written it:
“Well, if you are reading this obituary, it looks like I’m dead. WOW, it actually happened. I died of FOMO due to complications of Bulbar ALS.”
Only Linda could find humor in her own death. Only Linda could make you laugh and cry in the same breath.
Humor as a Superpower
Linda had two superpowers, she said: being able to drink without getting a hangover, and keeping people smiling through even the darkest days. Even as her body betrayed her, her spirit refused to give in.
She talked openly about the pain of not being able to say “I love you,” or to call her dog, Mr. BoJangles, for a treat. About having to pretend to enjoy “puréed baby mush” while everyone else devoured burgers and pasta. And yet… she smiled. She joked. She made us feel better about life even as hers was slipping away.
But Behind the Smile…
What struck me most was the quiet strength she showed the strength to hide her suffering so others wouldn’t feel bad. As her daughter Justine put it, “The hardest thing up until the end is that people would say she looks so amazing… but behind closed doors, the struggle was so real.”
That’s what made her story so powerful: she wasn’t pretending that everything was okay. She was choosing joy anyway.
A Final Request
In her obituary, Linda didn’t ask for flowers or fanfare. Instead, she asked people to buy scratch tickets and hand them out to strangers something she did often in her own life, just to brighten someone’s day.
She asked us to be kinder. To smile more. To say yes to the party, the trip, the adventure.
Simple things. But the kind we often forget to do until someone like Linda reminds us.
A Goodbye on Her Own Terms
Linda didn’t just plan her obituary. She planned her casket. Her playlist. A full-on dance party. She wanted her final chapter to be a celebration — not a sob story.
And she made sure her death had meaning. She donated her brain and spinal cord to ALS research, hoping that someday, her suffering might help save someone else.
Why Her Story Matters
I didn’t know Linda. I never met her. But after reading what she wrote, I wish I could have had that glass of wine with her too.
Her story reminds us that while we can’t always control what happens to us, we can control how we respond. We can find humor in heartbreak. We can fight with grace. We can live fully and leave this world with impact.
Linda Brossi Murphy didn’t just die of FOMO. She lived like she had no time to waste.
And maybe that’s the lesson for all of us.
