She wanted to make people laugh so she wrote her own obituary and became a viral sensation

Linda M. Murphy, a Massachusetts woman, passed away following a battle with bulbar ALS, but it's her relentless spirit and her zest for life that will live on forever. Murphy not only wrote her own obituary but also chose her casket and funeral music, and even planned an epic dance party to celebrate her life, CBS News reported on October 2.

Murphy, a breast cancer survivor, couldn't speak for about a year before she died. When she first felt symptoms, Murphy went to the doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital and said, "I have ALS. Prove me wrong," her daughter, Hastings, recalled. "And they did every single test, and she diagnosed herself. That is the most 'my mom' thing she has ever done," she added. Although Murphy made it look like her journey was a walk in the park, her deteriorating condition was taking a toll not only on her physical but also on her mental health. In her obituary, she wrote, "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." Moving on, she also talked about how the disease forced her to enjoy bland food while everyone around her was busy relishing everything she wished she could have. 

"Living had gotten to be such an overwhelming burden every day, day after day. I always did my very best not to let anyone know 'the back story' of my daily suffering and struggles with ALS. Hubby and I just plowed through each day, trying to put our best selves out there for the public eye. Hair and make-up done, smiles on…," Murphy added. The happy-go-lucky woman loved spending time with her family and friends. Besides, she also enjoyed feeding birds, gardening, and basically, she loved spending time with nature. "I lived my life with two superpowers. My first, of which everyone was jealous, was that I could drink as much as I wanted and never seemed to get a hangover... the real wonder is why I didn't die of liver failure. My second superpower is that I was always genuinely happy and absolutely loved to be with nice people," she explained. In her concluding lines, Murphy urged everyone to be kind to people, whether it's the telemarketer or the grocery clerk. "Speak nicely and positively. Is there really ever a reason to be negative? I don't think so," she said.

Further, she also requested people not to "waste money on flowers." Instead, she asked people to buy a bunch of scratch tickets and give them out to strangers along their way. "Make people happy; that is the best way that you can honor my memory," Murphy wrote. She loved doing it while she was alive, and it's something her family says they will continue in her honor. No matter how hard we try, we say we won't ever be prepared to face death. Murphy, however, was built differently. Despite her struggles, she kept a brave face on and decided to fight till the end. A YouGov Death Study found that while 4 in 10 Britons have thought about their funeral, only 8% have looked at it in detail. However, they found that nearly 48% had not given any thought to this whatsoever. 

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