Cindy Sheehan: Soul Survivor, Last Campaign Of Miller Sisters – OpEd
I was only 11 months older than was she, so our parents always got us matching pjs for Xmas.
I suspected Christmas 2016 would be Dede’s last, so I got us matching jammies and took this final photo with her. She loved the pjs so much, but the gesture even better.
Dede was my blood-sister, but also so much more. My marriage came and went; children come and go and come and go and come and go; but Dede was always there for me. During the highs and lows of being the “Face of the antiwar movement” when many people abandoned the cause and abandonded me: Dede was always there.
When I was planning for her cremation and her memorial, I kept thinking, “this would be so much easier for me if Dede were here.”
The two years I was Dede’s main caregiver and support-person and the 10 days she was in hospice before she died were very tough for me, but there were moments filled with love and grace and I learned so much about cancer, the Cancer Industrial Complex, and about my relationship with my soul-sister.
While I will be hopefully increasing the reach of the Soapbox and working with many people in the true resistance against Empire, I am also planning on writing a book about Dede and especially our final journey together tentatively titled: “Soul Survivor: The Last Campaign of the Miller Sisters.”
So sorry about your sister. She must have been a wonderful person to stand by your side through all the tribulations you went through in your fight for justice and answers. We don’t hear much about you these days but I will never forget your strength.
My sincere condolences for your loss, Cindy.
I once met you at a peace rally in Los Angeles and recall you as being so gracious and kind, despite how fresh your loss was at the time:
http://articles.latimes.com/2005/oct/09/local/me-march9
I admired then and still admire your courage and strength. Peace be to you in this difficult time.