I Dare You Not To Cry
This is probably the most heart wrenching thing I have ever seen. Elena Desserich was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer when she was just five years old.
Between the time she was diagnosed and the time she died when she was six, Elena hid hundreds of notes all over the house she shared with her parents and sister. She hid the notes between the pages of books, in cupboards, drawers, bags, and clothes stashed away for the winter.
Her parents found the first notes a few days after she died and ever since have been finding them at regular intervals. Her parents decided to make a book called Notes Left Behind.
Elena addressed the notes to her parents, to her sister, her grandparents and even her dog. Despite losing the ability to speak and the onset of what would become permanent paralysis, Elena kept writing the notes and kept hiding them.
Because the parents are afraid they will someday find all the notes, they each have one unopened note they carry with them at all times.
"It's our way of saving the last note," said Elena's mom.
All the proceeds from the book are going to be used for cancer research.
yep, crying...I'll buy the book but I'm sure I can't read it.
ReplyDeleteI read about this yesterday and it made me choke up. It angered me when I read comments from people saying that it was a set up because they would have found them way before because they would of cleaned, right? I was like damn, the little girl has passed on. Show some sympathy. I think it's sweet.
ReplyDeleteOMG, God Bless her soul
ReplyDeleteyep, crying. I honestly think sometimes we are graced with the presence of people or in this case children, who are far better people than we can ever hope to be.
ReplyDeleteIt's a testament to those parents that their little girl felt so loved that she wanted to be sure that her parents felt it too. Very touching.
ReplyDeleteYeah, totally tearing up; however, I don't think anything will make me cry as much as "Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father" did. Holy Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI read those comments, too, Caroline, and they made me angry. When did we get so cynical?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure this little girl is still writing notes up in Heaven. God bless her and family.
I'm in tears. At work. Wonderful and heartbreaking all at the same time.
ReplyDeleteit has nothing to do with sympathy. everyone feels sympathy for a little girl that died of cancer.
ReplyDeleteit's hard not to be cynical in this day and age. this story's probably true, but i admit my eyebrows went up a tiny bit when i read it.
so shoot me.
I am blessed with a daughter who likes to leave notes or drawings for us. She is 10 and has been doing this for a while. She doesn't hide them, but usually leaves it our bed or by our stuff. I am even more blessed that she is healthy. What a wonderful gift that little girl left for her family.
ReplyDelete^^BANG!
ReplyDeleteJ/k nancer ;)
that is pretty fuckin' cynical though, lol.
this is sweet and touching no matter what the M.O. is..
What a little angel!
ReplyDeleteThanks. Crying at work. That is simply heart-breaking.
ReplyDeletewow...really? People were finding this suspect? Jesus...I really am starting to seriously dislike people...
ReplyDeleteAnd Bigmama? I couldn't agree more with your statement.
Oh my. If it's true then what a sweet girl.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised people are a little suspicious. All you have to do is look around and see how others have used the goodwill of people for their own gains.
Another one in tears, oh my.
ReplyDeleteenty is def female
ReplyDeleteall the proceeds are going to cancer research...there'd be no need to be suspect of anyone getting personal gain from this
ReplyDeleteThis just blew me away. What an amazing little spirit...no, HUGE spirit in that precious little girl.
ReplyDeletethis broke my heart instantly when i read this story. i have a little 9 year old sister who leaves similar notes and that thought alone made me tear up. puts everything into perspective, i'll never take those drawing for granted ever again.
ReplyDeleteholy crap, yup tearing up here too...I don't find this suspicious at all. First, if you kid has such a bad illness, you probably aren't doing deep down house cleaning anyhow. Secondly, my 5 year old hides toys and stuff all the time and we end up stumbling upon the 'lost' item 6 months later...
ReplyDeletethe Cynics have obviously not ever felt the true love of a child!
I am crying already....and I didn't even finish reading the post, Enty!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh..my..goddess.
ReplyDeleteYeah.
All kinds of tearing up.
Just ordered my copy on Amazon.com. It's less than $12!!!
ReplyDeleteI lost my mom and sis to cancer (within a two-month span). I don't know how I'd handle finding notes from them. I know that I still have a crayoned "I love you" from my nephew that he drew years ago and I cherish.
Ditto what Kris said:
ReplyDeleteI will most certainly buy the book, but doubt I could ever open it up. As a Mom of 4, this subject busts me up.
Dang.
ReplyDeleteCan't ...stop ...crying.
ReplyDeleteYOU'RE RIGHT....TEARS RUNNING DOWN MY FACE...
ReplyDeleteI have a 6 year old son. I don't care if it is a set-up, it's touching and heartbreaking and I hope that book makes millions of dollars. Must go buy one now.
ReplyDeleteLosing a child is IMHO the greatest loss a person can sustain. I hope the notes bring some peace to this family.
ReplyDeleteI pass the human test. My eyes are watery. She was a true ANGEL. God bless Elena. What a inspiration she is.
ReplyDelete*sniff*
nunaurbiz: I have a note from my niece who just turned 14, from when she was around 7, it's taped to my vanity and still makes me smile whenever I see it. :)
ReplyDeleteMy heart goes out to everyone who's lost an angel like this one. And how incredibly sweet that she lives on in her notes like that. RIP. XOXOX
Simply beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWell great. Now I'm a blubbering idiot instead of just an idiot. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to pick up a few copies and give them out at Christmas. This is just too beautiful not to share.
But first I'm going to get tissues...
I'm crying. Damn. I don't like to cry.
ReplyDeleteDamn. Crying.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's hard to believe really. They were probably little scraps of paper. Who looks in drawers every single day and cleans them out? I probably do it once a year. These were places she chose to hide her notes. Hide being the operative word.
It's a lovely thing and I choose to believe it completely. I can't be cynical always. It's exhausting.
I saw a news show about this before the book. They showed clips of her while the Mom talked. I think I used half a box of kleenex.
ReplyDeleteBless her she must have had the largest heart ever. Her family was lucky to have had her touch their lives.
It angered me when I read comments from people saying that it was a set up because they would have found them way before because they would of cleaned, right?
ReplyDeleteShe hid the notes. And, funnily enough, the last thing parents think about when their kid has cancer is housework.
Jeez, some people are heartless.
jesus h. christ. YOU CAN'T READ!!!!
ReplyDeleteit's not about the child or her illness. it's not even about saying the story isn't true---i never said that.
what i DID say is with all the shit going on and learning anew every day what assholes people can be, i admit to a shred of cynicism about the story's authenticity. it doesn't make me a cruel, heartless bitch. i'm just honest.
as for the money going to research, i hope that's also true---i hope it's ALL true. but if you've never heard of someone saying the proceeds from their book is going for charity or research and finding out maybe only a fraction of it (or none) actually did, then you're naive.
I just got goosebumps. What a sweet and loving gesture from this little girl. She took the time to think about the loved ones (including her dog) that she was leaving behind.
ReplyDelete(Leaving computer to get a kleenex for the tears)
What a wise and wonderful child. How amazing,and also how incredibly sad, is it that a child of that age would understand her mortality enough to know how wonderful it would be if she were able to leave notes for her family to find when she was no longer with them. Very touching.
ReplyDeleteellapetal has a great idea - would make a lovely Christmas present.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good, kind soul. Mom and Dad must be very proud.
My boy leaves me notes. He's supposed to be grounded, but I've decided that we're having Blizzards after school today. **sniff**
ReplyDeleteThat was a beautiful thought, bigmama.