On December 26, 2019, Amy Gannon and her 13-year-old daughter, Jocelyn, were killed on a helicopter tour on the Na Pali Coast in Hawaii. The accident changed the future not only of Amy’s husband, Mike, and son, Aaron, but also extinguished the rising star of a beloved activist, entrepreneur, and friend.

The loss was overwhelming, but Mike was determined not to let his wife’s legacy fade. Mike set out to compile a thorough biography of Amy’s life with the goal of helping Aaron know his mother as well as possible. Over a year and a half, writer and editor Susanna Daniel interviewed more than 45 of Amy’s friends, family, and colleagues, from her junior high homecoming date to the interns who worked at her nonprofit, from her parents and closest friends to students in her classes and colleagues who were profoundly influenced by her wisdom, support, and generous spirit.

Amy’s life story took her from a modest and challenging childhood in Greenville, Ohio, to American University, to a career deeply entwined with social justice and empowering women. She was fiercely loyal to her friends, tirelessly committed to ending inequity and the patriarchy, and deeply in love with her family. There is no question that Amy stamped the world indelibly with her passion, wit, and warmth, and that the world is worse off without her in it.