Elizabeth Edwards, Rest in Peace
[Guest post by Aaron Worthing; if you have tips, please send them here.]
It is tempting to make some kind of comment about her husband, but let’s show some class and respect for the dead. Ms. Edwards herself seemed like an okay person, and Cnn is reporting by breaking news email that she is dead.
I hope she left this world in as much peace and as little pain as possible. And I hope she finds happiness in the next world.
Update: The story is here. On facebook she recently announced her doctors had recommended against further treatment. This is what she wrote:
You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces – my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined. The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are certainly times when we aren’t able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It’s called being human. But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful. It isn’t possible to put into words the love and gratitude I feel to everyone who has and continues to support and inspire me every day. To you I simply say: you know.
[Posted and authored by Aaron Worthing.]
RIP
Lord Nazh (0d312a) — 12/7/2010 @ 2:21 pmGod Bless you and keep you…
EricPWJohnson (2a58f7) — 12/7/2010 @ 2:24 pmCoincidentally, I finished her book “Resilience” last week. It was a really short and fast read. Talked about loss of her parents, her son, her health issues (which I had no idea were so dire and immediate), and her betrayal. While she is a smart, wealthy, accomplished woman, it doesn’t make her trials any easier to take.
For those who think she might have something worthwhile to share, I would recommend this book. I’m keeping good thoughts for all her family and friends.
TimesDisliker (12fea0) — 12/7/2010 @ 2:26 pmShe kept the fight up well, and was thoughtful in her discussion of it as it came to an end. Elizabeth deserves her dignity, even though we are on different pages politically and live in a time of great political anger.
That’s Ms Edwards in a democratic underground thread, wishing other DU members to be kinder towards Laura Ingraham.
It’s a shame these ‘be nice’ messages have to be sent, though I was probably one of the ones who needed to hear them when Ted Kennedy passed away.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 12/7/2010 @ 2:38 pmMay God keep her for all eternity.
She lived a remarkable and full life. Her early passing isn’t as tragic to me as many I have known, though.
One thing that will drive me to distraction is watching John use this to self-aggrandize. There is no way anyone will dare call him on this, either.
Ed from SFV (6edf50) — 12/7/2010 @ 3:08 pmMay her and her oldest son enjoy a joyous reunion tonight. I hope she was able to find some comfort, as she was having to leave her children here, that she would be able to see him soon.
As a mother, I cannot fathom.
RIP Mrs. Edwards.
Em (ae4747) — 12/7/2010 @ 3:24 pmI know that the book “Gamechanger” described Ms. Edwards as being vulgar and rude.
Today, I choose to think of the authors of that book as the vulgar and rude ones.
I could care less about her husband. But for her children and the rest of her family, my deepest condolences.
Eric Blair (c8876d) — 12/7/2010 @ 3:40 pmDitto, Eric, I don’t get how anyone bothers with
narciso (6075d0) — 12/7/2010 @ 3:46 pmpolitical considerations at these times, a life
has been cut off all too short, the lives of their
children will never be the same
Being a cancer survivor I certainly wish her family well in this time of grief and sadness. But I must confess that I’ll always have a memory of Ms. Edwards hectoring and sliming anyone who even suggested a whiff of impropriety regarding her husband’s peccadillos. Now we know that she knew all along exactly what he was up to, yet chose to live the lie, as long as he got the Presidential bid.
Dmac (498ece) — 12/7/2010 @ 3:51 pmBTW, if my comment is deemed to be unduly harsh, please delete it.
Dmac (498ece) — 12/7/2010 @ 3:52 pmdmac
I ain’t going to censor nothing. I don’t think Patterico will either. The only rules i am sure of is 1) no spam and 2) no sock-puppetry.
Aaron Worthing (b8e056) — 12/7/2010 @ 3:55 pmElizabeth Edwards was a strong and accomplished woman whose media detractors cited her as being rude, overbearing and a bully etc.
During her interviews I had both admiration and my own reservations too. (An aside; she was an army brat and Italian-American).
Ovarian cancer is brutal. I hope she had excellent hospice and pain maintenance to help her. God bless her.
dudeabides (7b2c6d) — 12/7/2010 @ 4:04 pmMay she find peace …
JD (eb5afc) — 12/7/2010 @ 4:21 pm“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man [or woman] stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the [individual] who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends [themselves] in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if [they] fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that [their] place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt.
Rest in eternal peace, Elizabeth Edwards.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 12/7/2010 @ 4:27 pmWhat a lovely and powerful statement. God bless you Mrs Edwards.
Pious Agnostic (f24095) — 12/7/2010 @ 4:36 pmMay her and her oldest son enjoy a joyous reunion tonight. I hope she was able to find some comfort, as she was having to leave her children here, that she would be able to see him soon. As a mother, I cannot fathom.
Ditto. I hope it was a reunion of unspeakable joy.
Dana (8ba2fb) — 12/7/2010 @ 5:18 pmSo saddened to hear this news. What with all the pain she had to endure during her fight with cancer: John Edwards’ unfaithfulness and lies, to mention a few. Then this. Oh poor dear….
The Emperor (d61748) — 12/7/2010 @ 6:50 pmOh my goodness, it was just today that I had heard her cancer had worsened. She must have known her time was imminent when she made that post.
I have heard that people at the end of a terminal illness often look back and wonder why they spent so much time working, or why they carried petty grievances for years, or why they worried about things that are so small-bore compared to the rich and complex mysteries of life. Mrs. Edwards may or may not have had those sorts of thoughts. I’m sorry that she and her husband wasted years of their lives in the fruitless and egotistic pursuit of power, but I hope she was at peace and surrounded by loved ones in her final hours.
JVW (9bed62) — 12/7/2010 @ 6:57 pmExcellent points all, JVW.
Dmac (498ece) — 12/7/2010 @ 7:34 pmVery surprised and saddened by this news – had missed that her situation was so grave these last days. May she rest in peace.
Noticed that Fox, on which I heard the news, did not solicit any statement from John Edwards or even mention him, and of that I am glad, because their focusing solely on her life and accomplishments (they gave quite a nice tribute and obituary) gave her passing its own proper dignity and honor.
no one you know (72db9b) — 12/7/2010 @ 7:43 pmShe was a classy lady. She suffered a lot in her life and I don’t mean her husband. She lost a child.
May God give her the happiness in Heaven that He did not give her on Earth.
nk (db4a41) — 12/7/2010 @ 8:16 pmCancer is a nasty disease. A great leveler finding victims among the rich and poor, the good and the truly evil, the young and the not so young. It forces us to be a community of one in the end.
Huey (339a76) — 12/7/2010 @ 8:59 pmFeh.
Classy? Not a friggin’ chance.
RickZ (882387) — 12/7/2010 @ 11:18 pmMrs Edwards seemed like a nice lady. Too bad she was married to a lying two-faced narcissistic nancy boy philandering prick.
Well, Elizabeth’s free of such eartly troubles now. RIP.
Jones (72b0ed) — 12/8/2010 @ 5:36 amRIP, and I hope the kids recover and have a good life.
As a cancer survivor, I hate to see us lose one.
Patricia (3aa1fd) — 12/8/2010 @ 7:33 amShe was a classy lady.
She attempted to pay off her husband’s mistress in order to ward off the bad press, then smeared anyone who tried to find out the truth of the matter. She also routinely terrified and abused her husband’s staff – please don’t attempt to rewrite history, it does a disservice to the deceased as well as to the living.
Dmac (498ece) — 12/8/2010 @ 9:38 am