The letter that touched millions—shared by 27-year-old Holly Butcher just one day before she passed away.
In the quiet hours before her death from a rare form of cancer, Holly Butcher didn’t write a goodbye.
She wrote a gift.
At just 26, she had every reason to be bitter. Angry. Devastated. Life had been stolen from her far too soon—before she could grow old, before she could raise children, before she could chase all the dreams she had carefully carried.
But Holly chose something else.
She chose to use her final hours to leave behind a message for the rest of us. Not one filled with sorrow, but with perspective. Not a lament about death—but a powerful lesson on how to live.
Her post, titled “A bit of life advice from Hol,” was shared with friends and strangers just 24 hours before she took her final breath. And in the days and weeks that followed, it traveled across the globe—touching hearts, changing minds, and reminding millions of what really matters.
“It’s a strange thing to come to terms with your own mortality at 26,” she began.
“We go through life expecting tomorrow, planning for the future, imagining growing old… But life is fragile. Each day is a gift—not a guarantee.”Death-themed merchandise
Holly’s diagnosis had given her clarity most of us spend a lifetime chasing. As her body weakened, her spirit sharpened. She saw with painful precision the things that don’t matter—and the things that do.
She reminded us to stop obsessing over our bodies.
To stop criticizing the shape of our thighs, the curve of our stomachs, the way we look in pictures.
“Be grateful for your body,” she wrote.
“Move it. Nourish it. Don’t waste energy hating it. Your body is your home—treat it with kindness.”
She urged us to put down our phones. To stop missing real life because we’re busy editing fake ones. To show up for the people we love—with presence, not just proximity.
She challenged us to stop chasing perfection, wealth, or status—and to start collecting moments instead of things.
“Spend your money on experiences. Take the trip. Go to the concert. Swim in the ocean. Say yes to life.”
She encouraged us to say “I love you” more often.
To write the card. Cook the meal. Forgive quicker. Hug longer.
And when life gets hard—as it always will—she urged us to feel it. To stop pretending we’re fine. To cry, to grieve, to be real… but not to dwell.
Because life is too short for endless resentment. Too beautiful for bitterness.
“You don’t need a perfect body or a perfect job or a perfect house. Do what makes your heart happy. And if something drains you—walk away.”
And finally, with quiet urgency, she made a request:
“Please—donate blood. It gave me one more year. One more year to laugh, to love, to make memories with my people. That gift… meant everything.”
Holly died on January 4, 2018.
She didn’t get the wedding. The babies. The full story she had hoped for.
But her words—raw, wise, and filled with grace—have become her legacy.
They live on in strangers who hold their loved ones a little tighter…
In people who walk barefoot through grass and feel the sun on their skin with deeper gratitude…
In new donors who roll up their sleeves and save lives in her name.
She left us not with despair—but with a challenge:
To stop sleepwalking through our lives.
To choose joy now.
To live honestly.
To be brave enough to love—and to let go.
Because we are not promised tomorrow.
But today…
Today is still ours.
“I just want people to stop worrying about the small, meaningless stresses in life and try to appreciate the time they have,” Holly wrote.
“Love deeply. Give freely. Live fully.”