A death notice comes from a family who has died of opioid addiction

A poignant obituary for a young mother begins discussions about opioid addiction, while the woman's family is struggling to accept her death.

Madelyn Linsenmeir died suddenly on October 7th, surrounded by her family. In a heartbreaking obituary, Linsenmeir's relatives wrote frankly about his long struggle with addiction that ultimately cost him his life.

"We loved him more than you can imagine and we are heartbroken by his passing," Linsenmeir's sister Maura O'Neill told PEOPLE.

Linsenmeir's obituary has made its way onto the Internet, prompting social media users around the world to send messages of comfort to the family, to think differently about addiction and even to share their own addiction stories. But for the family, they simply honored the 30-year-old girl whom they remembered as a loving mother, "warm and fearless".

"It is impossible to capture a person in an obituary, especially a person whose adult life was largely defined by drug addiction. For some, Maddie was just a drug addict – when they saw his addiction, they stopped seeing her. And what a loss for them, "the family wrote in the obituary.

"Even if we would have paid the ransom for it, at any price in the world, this disease would not let her go until she was gone."

Linsenmeir started using opods at the age of 16, she wrote. She tried OxyContin for the first time at a high school party after her family left Vermont for Florida and "thus begins a relationship with opiates that will dominate the rest of her life."

Linsenmeir struggled with sobriety several times during her life and, with the birth of her son Ayden in 2014, she worked even harder to transform her life.

Madelyn Linsenmeir

Madelyn Linsenmeir / Facebook

"Maddie loved her family and the world. But more than anyone, she loved her son, Ayden … "wrote the family. "Every afternoon, no matter what the weather, she put it in a backpack and took her for a walk … she loved to snuggle her close to her, surrounding her with her love."

In the end, Linsenmeir recidivated and lost custody of the baby boy and the family described the loss as "unbearable" for her. According to his relatives, the last two years have been the most difficult for Linsenmeir, the "darkness" of the disease leading to "pain and shame".

However, the family has kept one of their last good memories, the 12 days Linsenmeir spent with his family during the summer.

"For those wonderful 12 days, full of swimming, Disney movies and family dinners, we always thought that she would conquer her illness and make life for herself, we knew she deserved it." ", says the obituary. "We believed this until the moment she took her last breath. But his addiction followed and stole it again.

In conclusion of this naïve obituary, Linsenmeir's family encouraged people suffering from the disease and urged readers to learn about this addiction.

"If you read this with discernment, find out about this disease because it is what it is. This is not a choice or a weakness, "they wrote. The family added, "If you suffer from addiction, know that every breath is a new beginning … It's never too late."