Sara Bennett, a mother, former teacher, and social media influencer, announced her own death in a pre-written Instagram post on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. She was 39 years old. Bennett passed away after living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) for nearly three years. Her final message, delivered on her account @theanandapivot, provided comfort to over 100,000 followers and shared a message of peace and gratitude for her life. She said she was not in pain and could “laugh, talk, and move” in her final days.
Sara Bennett’s Final Message and Her ALS Advocacy
Sara Bennett’s final social media post was a direct communication from her to the world, a move that reflected her desire to control the narrative of her life and death. In the caption, she expressed thankfulness for the time she had, even with the challenges of her illness.
“I am not in pain, or tired,” Bennett wrote. “I can laugh, talk, and I can move. Reflecting in my last few months of my life, I am glad I didn’t go suddenly even WITH the suffering. I finished my list.”
She concluded with a note on her choice for a green burial, stating, “Even if you don’t believe in any thing, I am feeding the earth, and my tree. I loved this life, and am grateful for the time.” Her diagnosis came in March 2023 after a year of unexplained symptoms that began with weakness in her right hand. Initially, she started her online presence as The Ananda Edit, sharing home organization tips. After her diagnosis, she changed the name to The Ananda Pivot, shifting her content to educate people about ALS and document her life as a terminally ill parent. In a blog post from November 2025, she explained her mission: “My platform gave me the chance to keep using my voice, to continue teaching, and to help others.”
The Legacy of Letters for Her Two Young Sons
For Bennett, her most important work was creating a lasting guide for her children. She dedicated over 100 hours to creating two detailed scrapbooks filled with advice, love letters, and life lessons for her sons, Lincoln, 9, and William, 7. The scrapbooks contain letters for future milestones like weddings, graduations, and the birth of their own children.
“I wrote them letters for special days because I asked people who had lost parents what they wanted most from them,” Bennett told TODAY in an interview before her death. “I’d write a sentence and sob. But little by little, sometimes at 3 a.m., I wrote them.”
She shared a glimpse of this project in a November 2025 Instagram post but kept the letters themselves private. “Those are just for us,” she wrote. Her advice covered topics from friendship to self-kindness. One note to her boys read: “People are insecure and will say mean things to make themselves feel better… It will be hard to remember that it’s a reflection of them, not you.” Her hospice nurse, Kim Graffis, witnessed Bennett’s devotion, noting, “There isn’t anything that holds this woman back from her boys… if those kids were doing something, she was going to be there.”
Understanding ALS and Sara Bennett’s Public Battle
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to loss of muscle control. There is currently no cure for the fatal disease. Symptoms Bennett experienced included loss of grip strength, difficulty walking, and weakening speech. The disease progressed to the point where she required a wheelchair and used eye-gaze technology to communicate. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, ALS gained more public attention through Bennett’s candid documentation.
In videos, she detailed her difficult path to diagnosis, which involved seeing over 15 specialists and undergoing an unnecessary spinal surgery before receiving the correct ALS diagnosis. She used her platform to advocate for more research funding and better access to experimental treatments. Bennett connected with organizations like the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) and involved her family in fundraising efforts.
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Family Life and Preparations for “The After”
Sara Bennett was married to her husband, Rusty, for over 11 years. Together, they focused on creating a supportive environment for their sons and preparing for the future. Bennett called this preparation “pivoting to the after”. She organized an end-of-life ceremony and wrote out specific family traditions for every holiday, delegating their execution to friends and family to ensure her husband had extra support. She resisted having her life defined solely by her illness. In a final essay, she wrote, “Thirty-six of my 39 years… I ‘really loved the shit out of’ my life.” She viewed her three years with ALS as a significant season, but not her entire identity.
Following her death, a college fund was established for Lincoln and William, as Bennett had wished. Her public journey and private preparations showed a determined focus on leaving her family with guidance, love, and practical support. Her final public words were a call to action and a reminder of joy: “Be good to each other,” she wrote, “and love the shit out of your life.”
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