Global Courant 2023-05-11 00:59:06
Heather Armstrong, founder of one of the first mommy blogs, Dooce.com, has passed away, according to an Instagram post on her account. She was 47.
“Heather Brooke Hamilton aka Heather B. Armstrong aka dooce aka love of my life. July 19, 1975 – May 9, 2023. “It takes an ocean not to break.” Keep your loved ones close and love everyone else,” the Instagram post read is reading.
She is survived by daughters Leta, 19, and Marlo, 14; her ex-husband, Jon Armstrong, and her boyfriend, Pete Ashdown.
A request for comment to Jon Armstrong was not immediately answered. In response to an Instagram comment expressing disbelief that the news was true, he wrote, “So scared.”
Armstrong died by suicide, Ashdown told The Associated Press. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Once considered “Queen of the Mommy Bloggers,” Armstrong rose to prominence in the early days of the Internet, becoming one of the first “momfluencers” and paving the way for a wealth of other women to follow with the advent of Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and other social media outlets.
Her blog was launched in 2001 and she quickly grew in popularity due to her candor. She shared her experiences of leaving the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having sex, and discussing the highs and lows of raising her daughters.
In 2009, Forbes called Armstrong one of the most influential women in media, noting that her blog averaged 300,000 followers at the time.
In a April 15, 2012 interview with Savannah Guthrie of TODAYArmstrong said she was “really scared” to share the news of her divorce from her husband.
“A lot of people bring their own perspective and experience to something like this and I didn’t know if talking about it would destroy everything,” Armstrong said at the time. “I thought I had to talk about it because I felt inauthentic not to share what was going on because I’ve been so open about my life for almost 11 years.”
Armstrong was also open about her mental health, particularly her struggles with depression.
She has published several books, including a book of essays titled “Things I Learned About My Dad (in Therapy): Essays”; a memoir titled “It Was Bad and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much-Needed Margarita”; and a book about her struggles with suicidal depression entitled “The Valedictorian of Being Dead: The True Story of Dying Ten Times to Live.”
After news of Armstrong’s death broke on social media, many thought about what her blog had meant to them.
“It is shocking to hear that Heather Armstrong passed away yesterday,” wrote Roxane Gay wrote in a tweet. “It’s hard to put into words how influential she was in the blogosphere. I hope she is at peace and that her children and loved ones find comfort where they can.”
Author Lyz Lens tweeted that Armstrong showed her that she could self-publish on the Internet and write on her own terms without a publisher.
“I was an avid dooce reader and her second and my first child are the same age and her writing has helped me through some very difficult times of motherhood and made me feel sane and seen and laughing through tears ,”Lens wrote.
Some online said they were saddened by the news, despite mixed feelings about Armstrong’s blog following a 2022 post in which she made comments about transgender people being described critics as a transphobe.
“I was touched in so many ways when I heard of Heather’s death,” one person tweeted. “I started reading dooce when I was a Mormon, I was a parenting blogger when she was the biggest, and recently I unfollowed her for expressing transphobic views. It’s like my whole relationship with the internet.”
“I was a huge Dooce fan; her writing about mental health meant a lot to me back then,” another person tweeted. “She lost me years ago, but I’d check on the kids, and hoped she’d get help. I’m heartbroken for her kids.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME at 741741, or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
Kait Hanson, TODAY contributed.
