![Brittany Maynard Brittany Maynard](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/brittany-maynard.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
Hours before Brittany Maynard ended her life she sent an email to a stranger thanking her for fighting for “the choice of dignity in death,” People reports.
“Stories like yours and mine put human faces on a controversial topic that many politicians are happy to sweep under the rug,” Maynard wrote to Barbara Mancini, who helped her ailing father end his life last year. “I wish I could have had the pleasure of meeting you in person.”
Mancini had emailed Maynard, whose decision to end her life in the face of terminal illness reignited national debate on the topic, to thank her for her contributions.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Melinda French Gates Is Going It Alone
- What to Do if You Can’t Afford Your Medications
- How to Buy Groceries Without Breaking the Bank
- Sienna Miller Is the Reason to Watch Horizon
- Why So Many Bitcoin Mining Companies Are Pivoting to AI
- The 15 Best Movies to Watch on a Plane
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Write to Justin Worland at justin.worland@time.com