(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — It was June 2022 when Laura Jacobson, a beloved teacher at Cary-Grove High School, unexpectedly passed away while she was vacationing in Italy with friends — and more than six months later, Jacobson’s daughter Kera Sanchez found herself thinking of her mom again.
“I was folding laundry, and I was like, ‘Man, I am never going to be able to ask my mom another question again,’” Sanchez said. “It just came to me: I would hate for my kids to be in the position that I’m in now, where if they ever needed something … that they wouldn’t be able to access that.”
Sanchez said she had a lightbulb moment: What if she created a resource people could use to leave something behind for their loved ones?
Over the next two months, Sanchez got to work on what’s now called “Legacy Letters,” a guided journal that provides a space for people to document their lives and write down words of wisdom, support and other advice for those they’re closest with.
“I think a lot of times, you just worry about the what-ifs in life, and I feel like this is, in a weird way, like a life insurance policy or, you know, a will,” she said. “ We do these things for logistical reasons or financial reasons, but we should also be doing them for emotional reasons.”
Sanchez, a Spanish teacher at Round Lake High School, said creating the dozens of prompts included in the journal came naturally to her. They’re drawn from what Sanchez described as the “firsts” — those moments when her first instinct would be to reach out to her mom.
“A couple weeks ago, both of my girls were sick, I was sick, and I … just wished I could call my mom, because I know she would offer to, you know, ‘I’ll bring over some soup; I’ll make you a smoothie,’” she said.
Sanchez said creating “Legacy Letters” has allowed her to process exactly what she’s feeling, largely because she’s forced to sit in those emotions and consider how a similar loss might be affecting other people.
That process, she added, has left her with a sense of community and has made her less afraid of death and dying.
“I think once you accept that this is how life is, it’s so much easier then to move forward with joy, because you realize that [the] time is just so short that we have here,” Sanchez said. “You want to focus on the good, and as much as I wish I had these for my mom, I can definitely imagine what she would’ve said to me and what she would’ve written down.”
Jacobson’s legacy has also lived on at Cary-Grove.
Rob Boncosky, who collaborated with Jacobson for many years to costume the high school’s musicals and choir performances, described her as a “beloved teacher, colleague and friend” whose “smile, laughter, and energy are sorely missed.”
“Ever the encourager, she championed kindness and authenticity, and her many talents enriched the lives of all those blessed to know her,” he wrote.
Now, her daughter’s working to help people leave behind a legacy, as well.
“Legacy Letters” is available for purchase here. A Spanish version is available here.
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