in case you have tuned out npr

I understand. All war all the time, can get to you. It can paralyze you. So with that in mind, I felt it was important to pass along this news, in case you missed it.

Laura Rothenberg has died at the age of 22. Her story was first aired back in August 2002. She was given a tape recorder and over the course of two years sent back tapes award-winning public radio reporter and producer, Joe Richman. Months would go by and he wouldn't hear anything, and then he would get hours and hours of recording.

I remember first hearing the final result of the tapes. We had just come to the decision to move back to California, so life was a tad crazy. I remember being touched by her.

All you know is that she has been recording over the course of over a year, but you have no idea why Laura was picked. The result is that you fall in love with Laura, the person, for all her wit and wisdom and honesty. It takes a while before you learn that she has cystic fibrosis, has undergone a double lung transplant, and knows that at best she has less than a decade to live.

Despite her illness Laura tried to live a normal life. She was a sophomore at Brown. She had many friends and left a lasting impression on those she met. She made me think about my life, and for that I would like to honor her memory.

I agree with Richman that it only seems right to give Laura the last word (this is from the last tape she sent him).

I definitely think about after I'm gone. When I was younger, I used to try and plan my funeral, where I'd want it, how many people I'd want to be there, what it would be like. I've always been scared that people would forget about me. Eight years go by and, you know, someone who dies isn't the first person you think of when you wake up necessarily. But I'll find a way so that people won't forget about me. You know, I'll give friends things of mine that they'll always have.

For more information, go to http://www.npr.org/display_pages/features/feature_1199420.html