An Ode to Tatiana Schlossberg. May Her Legacy Light the Way

I'm sure I'm not the only person who has thought about Tatiana Schlossberg a lot since learning of her tragic death. On December 30, the environmental journalist died of acute myeloid leukemia. She was just 35 years old, and she passed just over a month after sharing an essay about her diagnosis and battle with the disease.

After I heard about Schlossberg's passing, I went back and read the entire essay. I suggest you do as well. Because even in near-death sickness, this tremendous woman took the time to use her voice as a tool.

In her essay, Schlossberg recounted a near-fatal postpartum complication. She talked about vaccine access, particularly how it affects immunocompromised people. She gave us a real look at what it is to be a patient as the health care system weathers changes — many at the hands of her own cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, whom she called "an embarrassment" to her and family. She detailed the treatments she tried, the access her fame and fortune provided, and the ways in which having a doctor spouse granted her answers. She shed light on the heroism and compassion of healthcare workers.

She gave the spotlight to so many others — and in addition to powerful commentary on the implications of restricting access and information, she also shared all the ways she thought of others during her illness and the impact it would have on them.

How she thought of her mother, Caroline Kennedy, weathering another tragedy. How her sister donated stem cells to try and save her. And, perhaps most poignantly, how, when she received her terminal sentence, her first thought was that her children wouldn't remember her.

It's a testament to what women do, every day: We think of everybody else, even when we are facing the heaviest battles. We consider and we care. Often to our own detriment. But Schlossberg's powerhouse essay is testament to the beauty of this thing women do even in their darkest moments. 

Rest in peace and in power, Tatiana Schlossberg. You left this world too soon, but your legacy and your advocacy and your incredible strength will live on.