Naomi Judd's daughter has penned a heartbreaking tribute to her late mom to mark her first Mother's Day without her.
On Sunday, May 1, country music legend Naomi Judd died by suicide at the age of 76, CNN reports.
The Grammy award-winning star was mom to daughters Wynonna and Ashley Judd, with the latter announcing to the world that their mother had passed away in a heartbreaking Instagram post last week. Ashely wrote at the time:
"Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness. We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory"
In honor of her late mother, Ashley also wrote an op-ed for USA Today, calling for motherhood to be "safe and healthy" amid the ongoing renewed conversations around abortion rights.
"This Sunday is abruptly, shockingly, my first Mother’s Day without my mama," 54-year-old Ashley writes. "She died just days before my sister and I could show her again how much we love and honor her."
She continued: "It wasn’t supposed to be this way. I was supposed to visit her on Sunday, to give her a box of old-fashioned candy, our family tradition. We were supposed to have sweet delight in each others’ easy presence."
Ashley then revealed how "motherhood happened" to mom Naomi "without her consent".
After her mother became pregnant at 17, Ashley says her mother was led down a road to "poverty and gender-based violence" - all of which attributed to her mental health battles.
Highlighting the numerous struggles and life-threatening issues that many pregnant women can face - such as violence, health complications during childbirth, and despair - Ashley concluded her essay by writing:
"This Mother’s Day, I choose to honor my mama for the person she was, a mother and so much more. And I ask you to honor your own mother, if you are lucky enough to have her. Honor her for more than her labor and sacrifice.
"Honor her for her talents and dreams. Honor her by demanding a world where motherhood, everywhere, is safe, healthy – and chosen."
Our thoughts are with the Judd family at this time.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, please reach out for help and contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741, or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.
