Sara Bennett, the content creator who documented her fight with ALS for more than 100,000 Instagram followers, has died at 39.
Her death was announced Tuesday, Jan. 13, through a final post on her account @TheAnandaPivot-an image of her smiling, captioned with words she wrote before she died.
“I am not in pain, or tired. I can laugh, talk, and I can move,” the message began. “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.”
Bennett concluded: “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.”
A Sudden Pivot After Diagnosis
Bennett launched her online presence in 2020 to promote her professional-organizing business, the Ananda Edit. Everything changed in March 2023, when doctors told her she had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal neurodegenerative disease.
She renamed the account @TheAnandaPivot and began chronicling the progression of her illness, refusing to let the diagnosis erase her voice.
“My world turned upside down,” she explained in a May 2024 post pinned to her page. “So many things to do from a personal standpoint. So many things to address from a disease standpoint. So many things to get in order.”
She admitted she nearly deleted the account, but reconsidered: “That would just be one more thing this disease was taking from me.”
Parenting Through Decline
Bennett and husband Rusty had been married more than 11 years. Together they raised two boys-Lincoln, 9, and William, 7-while her physical abilities faded.
Recent posts reflected on parenting amid terminal illness, her changing marriage, and the emotional toll of knowing she would not see her sons grow up.
Planning Her Own Goodbye
In August 2025, several months before she began sharing details about entering palliative care, Bennett revealed she staged a “dry run” of what she called her “End Of Life Ceremony.”
“I ugly cried the entire time,” she admitted, yet described the event as “beautiful” because she could hear what loved ones might say after her death.
“The idea of a traditional funeral just doesn’t feel ‘like me,'” she wrote. “I know it is sad, I am not trying to make it easier. I just want to reframe it, and I won’t let fear or discomfort keep me from the chance to do this.”
At a Glance
- Sara Bennett died at 39, almost three years after an ALS diagnosis in March 2023
- She amassed 100,000 Instagram followers by openly sharing her decline
- The mother of two boys, 7 and 9, wrote her own farewell post: “I loved this life”
- Why it matters: Her transparent chronicle of terminal illness offered an unfiltered look at parenting, marriage, and mortality in real time
According to News Of Los Angeles, Bennett’s posts combined practical updates on daily life with larger reflections on dying on her own terms, giving followers an intimate window into living fully while facing an incurable disease.
