The gripping story of a grieving mother torn between respecting her late husband’s wishes and holding onto a piece of him reflects the complexities of loss and coping mechanisms. The woman’s initial intention to comply with her husband’s request to deliver the letters to their daughters underscores her determination to preserve his memory and ensure that his presence is felt in their lives even after his death. But when she reads a letter addressed to her daughter on her wedding day, she finds herself unable to say goodbye to him and struggles with the overwhelming sense of connection he brings to her late husband.
As the woman wrestles with the decision to withhold the letter from her daughter, she goes through a range of emotions, from sadness and guilt to a desire for comfort and connection with her husband’s memory. Her reluctance to relinquish the letter testifies to the depth of her attachment to her husband and the profound impact his words have on her grieving process. Despite originally intending to fulfill his wishes, she ends up prioritizing her own emotional needs in a moment of vulnerability and longing for connection.
After her husband died, the devastated mother refused to comply with his last request to give their daughter his letter. Now he questions whether it was right.
Three years ago, a woman took to Reddit to ask if it was wrong to withhold something from her daughter that her late husband wanted her to give to the young woman.
She began her message by stating that in 2019, her husband’s brain tumor was declared incurable by medical experts. Doctors gave the man only six months to live, yet he persevered and lived nine months after hearing the news.
The father began writing letters to his two daughters — along with his wife — weeks after he was diagnosed. For each important event in his daughters’ lives, he wrote a letter that he asked his wife to deliver to the girls on that day. The author of the letters, their father, was unknown to the girls.
How were the letters used by the woman?
The woman said that her husband, whom she had been in a relationship with since childhood and married at the age of 18, was her soul mate and that she had a hard time accepting his departure. The woman revealed:
“On Mia’s wedding day, my husband wrote a letter for her to read. It is remarkable that these letters were unknown to my daughters.”
The widow claimed that although her husband’s death caused her great pain, one of the positive outcomes was that she and her daughters became closer and more dependent on each other.
Their oldest daughter married a man she had been seeing for six years, years after her husband died. A woman expressed her affection for her daughter’s husband, saying he helped the three women overcome their loss.
A deceased man wrote a note to his daughter on her wedding day.
But when the time came, the woman could not bring herself to leave with the letter.
She explained:
After reading it, I wanted to keep it to myself. It felt like he was there, and I couldn’t bear the thought of giving it up because I had his handwriting and his words.”
The mother excused herself by saying that she intended to give the letter to her daughter until she saw it. However, she decided that rather than give it to her daughter on her special day, she would rather keep it for herself.
What happened when the daughter discovered the letter?
The woman said her daughter and her husband bought their first home and were packing up their belongings from her home, where they previously lived, a week before sharing her story on Reddit.
While packing, the woman’s daughter asked where all her vital documents were. The woman informed her that the papers were in the top drawer of her dresser, undertaking to state that there was also a letter from her husband in the drawer.
The woman hid all the other letters and left only one in the drawer. The mom revealed when her daughter pulled out the drawer:
“She immediately recognized his handwriting and of course, it was addressed to her, so she read it and broke up.
When the woman’s daughter saw her again, she yelled at her for keeping the letter from her and asked how her mother could be so self-centered. The woman offered her daughter to take a photo of the letter instead of replying, saying nothing more than that she wanted to keep the letter.
She was eventually confronted by both of her children, who thought she was horrible and that she was hiding much more from them than just the letters. She posed the question to Reddit users: was she really to blame?
Many people corrected her, saying that her daughters were the rightful recipients of the letters because they were addressed to them, not her. People believed that the mother was selfish and her daughters were entitled, they called her a thief.
The woman asked that people stop sending her direct messages and death threats because of the intensity of the hurtful comments she was receiving. Since then, there have been no new developments in this case.
Similar to this Reddit user, another widow wished to save a part of her late husband after his death. Click here to read her story.
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inAmItheAsshole
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inAmItheAsshole
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inAmItheAsshole
The emotional turmoil experienced by the widow when she withholds her late husband’s letter to their daughter reflects the complex nature of grief and coping mechanisms. While her actions have been met with criticism from Reddit users, it’s clear that her decision came from a place of deep emotional attachment to her husband’s memory and a desire to keep a tangible piece of him. The intense response she received underscores the importance of open communication and empathy when navigating sensitive family matters during times of loss. Ultimately, each person’s grieving process is unique, and while a widow’s decisions may not conform to societal expectations, it is essential to approach such situations with understanding and compassion.