Letters Without Limits, founded by students at Hopkins and Brown University, connects volunteers with palliative care and hospice patients to co-create “Legacy Letters.” These letters capture memories, values and lessons that patients wish to share, preserving stories that might otherwise be lost. By honoring these voices and preserving legacies, Letters Without Limits hopes to affirm the central role of humanism in medicine, reminding us that every patient is more than their illness and that their voices deserve to be heard. As you read these powerful Legacy Letters, we invite you to pause, reflect and recognize the beauty in every life.
Interviewer’s Note
It was truly a pleasure talking to Mrs. Snowden. She was so open and honest in our conversations, and it really takes a lot of courage to be able to do that. She’s been through a lot in her life, but that has not stopped her for a second from trying to be the most positive person she can and trying to share her love with others.
The Foundation: Family Values That Last Forever
My story begins with love, the kind of love that shapes everything that comes after. I was blessed to be raised by a loving mother and father who taught us the most important values of life. They showed us that God comes first, then family, and that we always had to look out for each other, no matter what was going on around us. They didn't just tell us these things. They lived them every single day.
My father came from a very poor background, but he showed us how we were his whole world. His work, he was a longshoreman loading and unloading ships, was how he took care of us and put us in a better situation than he had. That was his first priority. People might say we were poor in material things, but poor isn't about what you don't have. Poor is when you don't have values in life and don't know how to love other people. We had so much love in our family that we didn't even know if we were poor, because we had everything we needed. We had food, we had clothing and we had each other. That was all we needed.
Learning Through Loss and the Price of War
We were four children, three girls and one boy. My brother was eight years older than me, and after high school, he went to fight in the Vietnam War. When he came back, he was one of those ones. The war changed him. Eventually, the pain became too much for him, and he took his own life by jumping in front of a train. He was in his thirties, and I was in my twenties when we lost him.
This tragedy taught me something profound about the importance of family. We were raised knowing that we needed each other, that looking out for each other was the most important thing. Even in our grief, we all held each other up. That lesson has carried me through my biggest challenges since.
Finding Strength in Faith
I was brought up in church, but you don't really know God until you find Him for yourself. I found Him in my thirties, during one of the hardest times in my life. I was going through a divorce and really needed something to lean on, someone to trust. When I turned to God, He made things happen that I knew only came from Him and nobody else.
The most amazing example was my daughter's education. She's now a chemist at a university, teaching for 15 years. When she wanted to go to college, I wasn't making that kind of money to send her for four years. But God made a way. He kept opening doors for me that I never thought could open. He put the right people in the right places, and things just started happening. As a single mother trying to raise two kids by myself, I know it wasn't anything I did alone. He made a way for me to do it.
The Heart of Motherhood
Being a mother has been the most important role of my life, and now being a grandmother comes close second. My grandson was my world. He still is, though he's 23 now and a man. I wanted them to live in a better world, to see better things than what's going on now.
I think I accomplished something as a mother because God made a way for me where I couldn't make a way for myself. My children appreciate what I did for them. My oldest daughter makes sure I have everything I need, especially now during these challenging health years. That means everything to me.
Lessons
After high school, I worked as a data entry clerk for 14 years, but eventually got tired of sitting behind a desk. I became a licensed daycare provider in my home for a couple of years when my daughter needed me close. But the work that truly fulfilled me was being a caregiver for elderly people for over 20 years.
In that job, people showed me respect and accepted me almost like a family member. It was very fulfilling and rewarding work. I felt appreciated, and I learned something important: you can fall in love with people who aren't your family. Like my current caregiver, she came into my life last year and is like a daughter to me now. She has a good heart and is a sweet person. We met just last August, but I fell in love with her and her family, and I've learned a lot from her while she's learned from me.
Surviving the Hard Times
Five years ago, I developed spinal stenosis and had to have surgery on my back, three surgeries in one year. I needed both knees replaced again. I had my first knee replacements in my forties, and after 20 something years, they both went bad. The second time around, the right one didn't take as well, and combined with diabetes and other complications, it's been a long road.
But through all of this, my whole family has stood beside me. A lot of people say you'll find out who really loves you when you get sick. They might love you for a little while, but they're going to get tired of you after a while. But my family has always been there, making sure I had everything I needed those whole five years. That has meant the world to me, because I see a lot of people don't have that.
When I look at the news today, it breaks my heart. I hate how people treat each other. I just wish the world would become a better place. I know I don't have that much more time here, but I want to leave something better for my daughter and my grandson.
I've learned that anything is possible if you believe in it. There have been many times when things seemed impossible, but they happened anyway. That's what has brought me this far.
My Message to You
I've learned that family comes first, that love makes you rich no matter what your bank account says, and that God opens doors when we need them most.
Don't try to do everything alone. Trust in something bigger than yourself, whether that's God, family or the good in people. And when someone lets you down, don't hold it in. Find people you can talk to, find ways to release that pain, because it's too hurtful to carry alone.
Most importantly, love people. Show them the same respect and kindness you want to receive. The world needs more of that right now.
Take time to think about what really matters. It's not the material things. It's the love you give and receive, and the values you live by. That's what makes a life worth living.
With love, Audrey Snowden
Letters Without Limits is a student-led initiative founded at Johns Hopkins and Brown University that partners with palliative care and hospice patients to create “Legacy Letters,” autobiographical narratives capturing memories, values and lessons patients wish to share. Their primary goal is to spread these stories so that every patient’s voice is heard. Follow them on Instagram @letterswithoutlimits and read more Legacy Letters on their website.
