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Heather Armstrong Obituary: Famous Dooce Mommy Blogger Dies At 47
Heather Armstrong, a pioneering mommy blogger who openly talked about her problems as a parent and her struggles with depression and alcoholism on her website Dooce.com and on social media, passed away at age 47.
Who Was Heather Armstrong?
Heather Armstrong started her website Dooce in 2001 and turned it into a successful career. She has two children with her ex-husband and business partner, Jon Armstrong.
At a period when personal blogs were becoming popular, she was one of the earliest and most well-known mommy bloggers, writing openly about her kids, relationships, and other struggles.
Despite using her maiden name Heather Hamilton for her professional lids, she had switched to her married name Heather Armstrong.
She earned the title of “queen of the mommy bloggers,” attracting a sizable readership from all across the nation.
She was dismissed from her Los Angeles web development job in 2002 for writing about her employer and coworkers. It was before she had kids.
The internet gave her ‘termination for blogging’ a nickname ‘dooced,’ which has now come to mean being fired for writing about a place of employment. She had earned the name ‘Dooce’ from her co-workers due to a spelling error she made when writing ‘dude.’
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Heather Armstrong: Achievements
Heather Armstrong turned what she discussed in her blog, Instagram, and other accomplishments into a book and released a memoir called “It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita” in 2009.
Armstrong appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show the same year and was listed in Forbes as one of the most powerful women in the media or blogging.
Armstrong started writing on the ups and downs of parenthood and marriage after moving back to her hometown of Salt Lake City, where she had grown up.
Dooe.com apparently had more than 8 million monthly visitors as blogs gained popularity and brought in more than $100,000 in revenue per year from adverts.
Personal Life
Heather Armstrong made her separation from Jon Armstrong public in 2012. In 2017, nearly six years ago she began a relationship with a former US Senate candidate, Pete Ashdown. They iced with Leta and Marlo, Armstong’s kids in her first marriage.
Although some readers attacked her for using the picture of her children and stories as blog content, she continued doing so because she never cared about any discouraging criticisms.
She frequently used slanderous phrases in her truthful, open articles on anything from breastfeeding and becoming pregnant to homework and commuting. As her fame increased, so did the criticism from others who thought less of her.
Armstrong was brought up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Memphis, Tennessee, but left the church after relocating to Los Angeles and graduating from Brigham Young University.
Heather Armstrong Obituary: How Did She Die?
Pete Ashdown, Heather Armstrong’s boyfriend said that she committed suicide on Tuesday night and was found at their Salt Lake City home.
Armstrong had been sober for more than 18 months, but had just relapsed, said Ashdown. He didn’t give any further information.
Mental Health Issues
According to Heather Armstrong’s memoir, she experienced depression for a significant portion of her life but wasn’t identified and treated until college.
The internet sensation called “Queen of mommy bloggers” by New York Times Magazine was released in 2017 after her marriage broke down.
Heather reduced her blogging efforts and concentrated more on her mental health as a result of the pressure she felt from all sides.
She enrolled in a research trial at the Neuropsychiatric Institute at the University of Utah when her depression got worse. She underwent ten rounds of chemically induced comas lasting 15 minutes each.
Heather Armstrong persisted in finding peace and discussed her recent transition to sobriety on dooce.com last month, saying that the 22 years of her agony with the alcohol had come alive and transformed itself into an alien-like life form.
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