Hayden Panettiere (8/21/89 – 8/16/2026)

I’d been on the waiting list at my local library for Hayden Panettiere’s memoir “This is Me” for what felt like the entire summer. Finally, I got the email notice saying my hold was ready for pick up and I happily spent last weekend devouring the book. I was rather taken aback by how relatable Hayden seemed. She cared very deeply for animals, understood the obvious magic power of trees, had a soft spot for dissociation via questionable substances, and had a less than ideal upbringing thanks to wonky (to put it kindly) parenting. Her life was filled with just as many swampy pitfalls as zeniths but she seemed to have figured out a way to balance her internal steering mechanism and she appeared to look forward to leaving her past behind while optimistically marching toward the endless potential of her future. Then about three hours after I finished her book, while feeling all kinds of inspired myself, the perpetual buzz-kill internet informed me that sparkly, super-talented,…