Heather Armstrong, who became famous in the 2000s for her blog Dooce in which she chronicled the joys and trials of parenthood, has passed away at the age of 47.
According to the Associated Press, her boyfriend Pete Ashdown discovered Armstrong at their Utah residence on Tuesday night.
In her many blog posts, the “queen of mommy blogging” discussed her experiences as a parent, her relationships, and the difficulties she faced.
At its peak, Dooce reportedly had over eight million monthly visitors, as reported by Vox.
Armstrong was included in Forbes’ annual list of the 30 most important women in media that same year (2009).
In the early 2000s, Armstrong created Dooce as a forum for people to talk about topics such as job, sex, and quitting the Mormon faith.
According to the AP and the NYT, the site’s moniker was inspired by an in-house joke about her inability to rapidly spell the word “dude” in online chats.
After her caustic blog, in which she referred to employees as “That One Coworker Who Manages to Say Something Stupid Every Time He Opens His Mouth,” was discovered to be hers in 2002, Armstrong was fired from her job as a web designer in Los Angeles.
The circumstances of her dismissal sparked a national conversation about personal data security, which in turn drove more readers to her site.
After she got pregnant the next year, she decided to revive the site six months later as a different kind of blog. Armstrong was not afraid to expose her own mental health issues, drinking, and postpartum depression, as well as the tantrums and meltdowns of her children.
The Wall Street Journal cites an estimate that the site was making $40,000 (£32,000) a month in advertising revenue by 2009.
Heather Armstrong has used her fame to build a sizable online following and publish three books, including the memoir It Sucked and then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much-Needed Margarita in 2009.
She had clinical depression her whole life until she finally sought help in college, the book claims.
Dooce’s death was announced on Wednesday via an Instagram post with the comment, “Hold your loved ones close and love everyone else.”
After being sober for over 18 months, Mr. Ashdown informed the AP that his partner had just relapsed. According to him, she took her own life.
Mr. Ashdown and his three children from a previous marriage, as well as Armstrong’s ex-husband Jon and their children Leta (19) and Marlo (14), are among those who will miss her greatly.
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