When Sonia Todd was diagnosed with cancer at 38, she faced her mortality with humor and honesty. Rather than letting someone else sum up her life, she wrote her own obituary—one that was anything but ordinary. What emerged was a mix of laughter, humility, and profound wisdom that still resonates today.
She started by joking that her greatest accomplishments—raising two amazing sons, marrying a wonderful husband, and finding faith—hardly needed a paid obituary. But her real gift was in the truths she shared. She admitted her flaws, her regrets, and the lessons she learned from life’s struggles. With her sharp wit, she even poked fun at death itself, relieved she’d never have to face student loans or telemarketers again.
But the heart of her message was gratitude. She thanked everyone who had loved her, supported her, and made her life meaningful. And then she turned her obituary into a call to action. She urged people to honor her memory by doing simple, kind things—volunteering, writing letters of appreciation, quitting bad habits, or just making someone’s day brighter.
Sonia’s words are a reminder that life’s true value isn’t in grand achievements, but in the small, loving acts we leave behind. And while she’s gone, her message lives on—urging us all to make the most of the time we have.
