By all accounts -- and even in the words of her own family members, Madelyn Linsenmeir was an addict.
But that’s not all she was.
The 30-year-old will be remembered as “a loving mother, a beloved daughter, a talented singer and a charming person -- even in the throes of addiction,” Linsenmeir’s obituary reads.
The Vermont mother who died earlier this month as a result of opioid addiction is being memorialized by her loved ones in a fearless obituary. The piece, which was published in the Burlington Free Press but has spread across the country, calls for a more open understanding of the illness that took Linsenmeir’s life.
Read more of the obit by clicking or tapping here.
"It is impossible to capture a person in an obituary, and especially someone whose adult life was largely defined by drug addiction," the obituary reads. "To some, Maddie was just a junkie---when they saw her addiction they stopped seeing her. And what a loss for them."