Heather Brooke Armstrong, a writer popularly known as “Does” in the early days of blogging, died Tuesday. She was 47. Her family announced her death in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
Her boyfriend, Pete Ashdown, told The Associated Press that she died by suicide. “She recently had a relapse and that’s what really got her down. She was sober for over 18 months, then started to slip back into it. And then last month she went full tilt,” Ashdown told the AP.
Heather Armstrong, also known as ‘Dooce,’ is a blogger who has become a household name in the blogging world. Her blog, which she started in 2001, has become one of the most popular personal blogs on the internet. It has attracted a loyal following of readers who tune in regularly to hear about her life, family, and struggles.
Armstrong was born on July 19, 1975, in Memphis, Tennessee. She grew up in Memphis and later attended Brigham Young University in Utah, where she earned a degree in English. After graduation, she worked as a web designer and copywriter.
In 2001, Armstrong started her blog as a way to document her experiences as a single woman living in Los Angeles. She soon began to write about other topics, including her struggles with depression, her marriage, and her children. Her blog quickly gained a following, and she became one of the most popular bloggers on the internet.
Armstrong’s blog has been praised for its candid and often humorous writing style. She has been open about her struggles with mental health and has written about her experiences with postpartum depression and anxiety. She has also been open about her struggles with her faith and has written about her decision to leave the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Armstrong’s blog has also been the subject of controversy. In 2009, she was fired from her job as a blogger for the website Queen of Spain after she wrote a blog post about her struggles with depression and anxiety. The post was considered by some to be offensive, and Armstrong was fired from her job as a result.
Despite the controversy, Armstrong’s blog has remained popular. She has continued to write about her life, her family, and her struggles with mental health. She has also written several books, including “It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita” and “The Valedictorian of Being Dead: The True Story of Dying Ten Times to Live.”
Armstrong’s blog has inspired many other bloggers to share their own stories. She has been praised for her honesty and her willingness to share her struggles with her readers. She has also been an advocate for mental health awareness, and she has used her platform to raise awareness about the importance of seeking help for mental health issues.
In 2012, Armstrong announced that she was taking a break from blogging. She cited the stress of being a public figure and the pressure to constantly share her life with her readers as reasons for her decision. She returned to blogging in 2014 and has continued to share her stories with her readers.
Today, Armstrong is considered one of the pioneers of personal blogging. Her blog has paved the way for other bloggers to share their own stories and has helped to break down the stigma surrounding mental health. She has inspired many people to be open and honest about their struggles and has shown that it is possible to find humor and joy even in the most difficult times.
In conclusion, Heather Armstrong, also known as ‘Dooce,’ is a blogger who has had a significant impact on the world of personal blogging. Her blog has inspired many others to share their own stories and has helped to break down the stigma surrounding mental health. Her candid and often humorous writing style has made her a beloved figure in the blogging world, and her influence will continue to be felt for years to come.
Heather Armstrong, also known as “Dooce,” was a popular blogger who was known for her candid and fluid writing style. She was known to chronicle her struggles with severe depression and alcoholism, which made her writing relatable to many of her readers. However, she faced criticism in recent years for promoting anti-trans sentiments on her blog dooce.com.
Currently, only one post remains on her blog, which was posted on April 6, in which she wrote about the pain of her struggle with alcohol. She compared early sobriety to “living life as a clam without its shell” and also shared personal stories about her daughter and posted music videos that were meaningful to her.
Although she returned to her maiden name, Heather Hamilton, she used her married name, Heather Armstrong, for most of her career. She was dubbed the “queen of the mommy bloggers” and had a large audience of readers across the country. But her blogging journey started on a sour note when she was fired in 2002 from her web development job in Los Angeles for writing about her company and co-workers on her blog.
The incident gained attention on the internet, and her termination for blogging became known as getting “dooced.” The term became shorthand for being dismissed for writing about a workplace, and her co-workers had given her the nickname “Dooce” for a typo she made while writing “dude.”
After returning to Salt Lake City, where she grew up, Hamilton started writing about the ups and downs of motherhood and marriage. As blogs became a popular form of media, dooce.com reportedly reached more than 8 million viewers per month and earned her more than $100,000 a year from ads on the blog.
However, some of her readers criticized her for using her children’s photos and stories as material for her blog. Despite this, she became a popular media figure and even appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2009. She was also named one of the most influential women in media by Forbes that same year. She went on to work on branded content for several companies, including Ford, Nintendo, and Clorox.
In addition to her blog, Hamilton wrote three books about her experiences with parenting and depression. These books include “The Valedictorian of Death,” “Dear Daughter,” and “It Sucked Then I Cried.”
Heather Armstrong’s legacy as a blogger will forever be remembered, and her candid writing style made her a relatable figure for many of her readers. While she faced criticism for her controversial opinions, her impact on the blogging industry and her ability to connect with her readers will always be remembered.
