Daughter's 4-Sentence Obit for Mom Is Scathing

Sometimes, obituaries written by the dearly departed go viral because they are so sweet and moving. This is not one of those. When Flo Harrelson died at age 65 in Maine, estranged daughter Christina Novak got the last word in four scathing sentences, reports the Bangor Daily News. In the obituary published in the Kennebec Journal, Novak wrote that her mother died "without family by her side due to burnt bridges and a wake of destruction left in her path." It concludes:

• "Florence did not want an obituary or anyone including family to know she died. That's because even in death, she wanted those she terrorized to still be living in fear looking over their shoulders. So, this isn't so much an obituary but more of a public service announcement."

• Novak tells People the obituary is "no joke," adding that it was "written with sarcasm and relief, but it's real." She said she hadn't spoken to her mom in about a decade and only learned of her death months after it happened.
• Novak also tells the Bangor newspaper that she showed the obituary in advance to other family members, and nobody objected. "When I wrote it, I wasn't mad," she says. "I wasn't angry. I was actually sitting with pen and paper and giggling to myself."

(More viral obituaries stories.)