The Letter I Read To My Mom After She Died

Lis Gal
7 min readMay 12, 2018

I began writing my mom a letter while she was still alive. Mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer in 2013 and she lived almost 3 years after her diagnosis. All the research and stats said she would only live about 6 months with treatment. My mom had a strong spirit and will to live, they need to re-write the Medical data on late stage small cell lung cancer!

It’s been a little over 2 years since I lost my mom, my best friend and it seems like yesterday, especially when holidays like, Mothers day are just around the corner- such a reminder of the love we shared and how much she is still missed.

My letter was written in stages and I wanted to share it with my mom before she passed. Mom never wanted to talk about her cancer or death and dying. I never found an opportunity to share my deepest thoughts/feelings with mom before she passed, so I read what I wrote to mom at her Memorial.

Today marks one year since my mother passed away. It still seems as though it was yesterday. I know that the sadness will pass it just takes time. I wrote a letter to my mom before she passed but she always wanted to stay focused on the day in front of her. She didn’t want to talk about her illness much and I was never able to share my words with mom. So, I shared them at her memorial and in honor of mom today, I will share them again.

In early August 2015, I told you that we understand completely if you are unable to make it to our daughter’s (your granddaughter’s) wedding and you replied, “Oh, I will be there, I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” You were already so weak when we talked about this at the beginning of August.

Photo Credit: Lisa Gallagher- Chautauqua Lake, NY

August 29th, 2015

Mom, you drove 3 hours with our Stepdad to see your granddaughter marry the love of her life. You hadn’t spent more than 50 minutes in a car over the past 2 years but, you made it mom! Mom, I’m so happy you were able to see your entire family at such a happy event. You even got to see your great grandson’s who with mom and dad flew in from Colorado. You were happy mom and we were blessed beyond words to have you there.

July 2015

In July you made it to not one but two family events. Your youngest grandson graduated from High School and you made it to his…

Lis Gal

Writer with a personal interest in Mental Health & Wellness. Writing with a mission: End the labels. Photography is my hobby, life is my passion.