Lauren's inner light and joy, undaunted by this horrific disease, carried not only her through it but us as well. In her eyes, I saw the courage of all who battle cancer - facing an unknown future. And time and again, I stood in awe of it. I believe we come into this world with special gifts - things that make us who we are. Lauren's gift was to quietly inspire people to live what they believe. She "walked her talk" and was without pretension or mask. You just felt good around her. She especially loved all things Italian, writing (you can find her blog here: http://www.snarkypants.com/!/ where she wrote about her journey almost until her last breath), cooking, being with friends and "The Gilmore Girls". She had an amazing spirit and was supported every step of the way by her parents, Mary and Steve who themselves are pretty amazing. Lauren's faith was steadfast through all her trials and this quote from St. Paul's letters to the Corinthians sums her up: Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.