Emily M. DeArdo

author

Living Memento Mori

Celebrating Emily's 2nd Anniversary in Heaven 🙏

2025, family, inspiration, memorialEmily DeArdoComment

A photo portrait of Emily!

Stairs to Heaven

Today we wanted to remember Emily on this 2nd anniversary of her home-going to heaven. She’s dearly loved and greatly missed by all her family and loved ones.

There’s a chapter from Emily’s book, Living Memento Mori, that she wrote in about a friend who carried her to the top of the Empire State Building on New Years Eve 2003 (before she had received her double lung transplant for her cystic fibrosis).

From a page in Emily’s book, Living Memento Mori. Page 1 of 2.

From a page in Emily’s book, Living Memento Mori. Page 2 of 2.

Such a beautiful story when considering what it meant to her at that time and in considering the biblical application of Jesus being the one who carried her (as He does all of us) in our moments of weakness. Exactly 20 years later, she was carried again, but this time, to heaven where she is now free of all that held her back physically in this world.

Memories from Friends

Earlier this month, we posted a short blog asking for memories of Emily. Here are 6 moments sent in as tributes to the beautiful soul that Emily embodied during here time here. We hope you read and are blessed by these stories as you enter into the New Year.


Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”- John 11:25-26


Pick up a copy of Emily’s book:
Amazon
Ave Marie Press
Seton Shrine

Happy 250th Birthday Jane + Send Your Fondest Emily Memories!

2025Emily DeArdo3 Comments

Jane Austen statue in Winchester

Quick mini post to honor Jane Austen on her 250th Birthday! We knew we just had to say something because Emily admired her so much and is likely celebrating with Jane today in Heaven! Check out Emily’s words from 10-years ago when she celebrated Jane’s 240th birthday here:

Happy 240th Birthday Jane

Also, as Emily’s 2-year anniversary in Heaven draws near, we want to ask anyone who is willing and able to post any memories in the comment section so we can put together a very special post at the end of the month! We know she is missed and loved so very much.

Celebrating Living Memento Mori 5th Anniversary! 📖

2025, book club, Catholicism, LentEmily DeArdoComment

Living Memento Mori 5th Anniversary banner with a picture of Emily and her father when she got her first physical copy of her book.

Can you believe it’s been 5 years since Living Memento Mori was published? We know if Emily was still here she would be have made a post to celebrate (here is her post celebrating the 1st anniversay), so we wanted to honor her legacy. Lent starts this year on March 5th and now it the perfect time to pick up your copy of her book and use it as a companion for your journey this year.

You can buy her book using the options below and be sure to check out the awesome testimonials from Amazon!

Pick up a copy of Emily’s book:
Amazon
Ave Marie Press
Seton Shrine

3 testimonials from Amazon for Living Memento Mori

Emily’s Commentaries

We also wanted to share archived videos from Emily of her book club commentary on each chapter of her book, Living Memento Mori. These would be great if you’re using her book for a book club or for your individual journey through as well. These are housed on Facebook, so please sign in to access them!
(Click the image below).

Emily’s commentary video library. Click the image to go to library. Sign into Facebook to see videos.

Seven Quick Takes--Giveaway Winners!!!!

give aways, CF, food, recipesEmily DeArdo1 Comment
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It has been BUSY here this week! First there was the book giveaway—and the winners are….

Christy Thomas and Rachel Anna!

Congratulations!! I hope you love the book! I I have emailed you to get your information. :)

Thanks to EVERYONE who entered! If you’d like your own signed copy, email me—they are $20 and include a bookmark and prayer card! (And shipping!)

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I also wrote this: No, you cannot cure ALL THE THINGS with diet….

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Speaking of health stuff….this vaccine rollout has been sort of nuts.

First, the state decided that my group of people—people with “congenital” issues, which CF is, but it’s weird to call it that—can begin getting the vaccine on Monday. Ok. Fine.

I talked to my transplant clinic (OSUMC) and they said, well check with the Department of Health.

Oooookay.

So I register with my county’s health department. Fine.

Then I hear that OSUMC is doing a big vaccination clinic for their patients, even turning the basketball arena into a vaccine clinic. Yay!

Oh wait. I’m not eligible for that, because…….health departments are taking care of me? Huh? OSUMC is only doing their elderly patients? (Which makes zero sense given that I am a transplant patient and they see adult CF patients?!)

This makes no sense to me. OSU is doing elderly people, which, OK, obviously they need it. But health departments aren’t getting a ton of vaccines, especially in a county like mine which has a smaller population and is mostly rural. They’re getting a few hundred doses and they have thousands of people signed up.

So. I have no idea when I’m getting the vaccine or where, but I’m really annoyed that the place where I get my healthcare isn’t making an effort to put its patients in their clinic.

This sort of dovetails into something else I’ve been wanting to talk about….

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Adult hospitals really don’t care about making your life easier. They don’t. Children’s hospitals do.

The Resort had everything there. Radiology. Labs. Clinics. ER. Hospital. EVERYTHING. All under one roof. I drove, I parked once, I got everything done. It was easy.

At OSUMC, nope. I have to drive to one building to get my tests done before clinic. Because we can’t use the radiology department in the hospital. And there’s no pulmonary function testing lab at the hospital. REALLY? They do lung transplants. And there isn’t a PFT lab at the hospital itself?

So I have to go to this place, register twice, and then drive to the hospital itself for my appointment.

At the hospital, they do not take you early. They did at the Resort. At the Resort, my day started with an 8:0 lab draw in infusion. I was often out the door by 11 am. I’d seen everyone.

Here? NOPE. I’ve got labs at 9, then PFTs, then X-ray, then I have hours to wait before my 2:00 appt., because they won’t take me early. Seriously?

So I have to find ways to amuse myself between these two things, and I waste an entire day. This annoys the crap out of me.

Ad finally, the free parking is only good for a few hours. So there’s that.

Adult hospitals, quite frankly, suck at this stuff. They’re so awful. And if it wasn’t COVID-tide this would be somewhat better because I could go to cute cafes nearby, or go shopping or something. With COVID, this all becomes a massive pain in the butt because places are either closed to indoor seating, or I’m sitting around wearing a mask in all these places for hours, which is annoying.

ADULT HOSPITALS! DO BETTER.

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OK after that you deserve some Patty. Here you go

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She just had her six month check-up and she has gotten taller and heavier so yayyy! And then she got her six month shots, poor bebe. :(

That’s one reason I want the vaccine NOW—I want to see Patty!!!!!!!!! I want to travel!

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This weeknight bolognese recipe is EPIC and you need to make it….I didn’t use ground sirloin, I used regular old ground beef. :) Also left out the cream. But SO GOOD.

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And finally, I read The Lost Man this week and really liked it. If you like mysteries, this is a really good one!

WIN a Signed Copy of Living Memento Mori!

the book, give awaysEmily DeArdo4 Comments
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In honor of Living Memento Mori turning one on the 24th, I’m doing a giveaway!

I’m giving away two signed copies of my book, which includes a prayer card and bookmark specially designed for the book. So there are two winners!

I will inscribe the book to you, a friend, a relative—whoever. So if you already have a copy and you win, you can give this one to someone you love! It makes perfect reading for Lent! (Really, anytime, but especially Lent!)

So, here you go! Winner will be announced in a blog post, so keep your eyes peeled!

GOOD LUCK!

The Living Memento Mori Book Club!

book clubEmily DeArdoComment
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I am so delighted to bring you this virtual book club!

I know, Lent’s over, but I still think it’s worth getting together to talk about Living Memento Mori, because it’s a message we need all the time, not just during Lent.

Here are the details:

The kick-off is Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 3:00 on my Facebook page.

The entire schedule of meeting dates can be found here. We’ll meet every Tuesday at 3:00 on my page from May 12-August 18, so this will run almost all summer. We’re taking a chapter a week, and there are fourteen chapters, plus the epilogue.

You can purchase the book at Amazon, Ave Maria Press (where it’s on sale until April 30!), or any other bookstore (links to various retailers can be found here).

It doesn’t matter if you use an e-book or a hard copy—we’re just taking it a chapter a week, so flip to the appropriate chapter.

I’m really looking forward to doing this with you! If you have any questions, drop them in the comments and I’ll answer them!