Fawn M. Brodie - Death

Death

Brodie died nine months before publication of the book. As death neared, the cancer spread to her brain and bones, and Brodie experienced intense pain. During this period, she was visited in the hospital by her brother Thomas, who had remained a practicing Latter-day Saint. Brodie asked him to “give me a blessing,” a surprising request since she had long been estranged from both her brother and the LDS Church. Even more curious was that a few days later, Brodie released a note saying that her request for a priesthood blessing should not be misinterpreted as a request to return to the Church. It was Brodie’s last signed statement. In accordance with her wishes, friends spread her ashes over the Santa Monica Mountains, which she loved and had successfully helped to save from real estate development.