Sara Bennett: Influencer with ALS announces own death less than three years after diagnosis

Popular content creator Sara Bennett has announced her own death at the age of 39 after battling ALS for nearly three years.

The mother-of-two had gained over 100,000 influencers after sharing her journey fighting the aggressive neurodegenerative disorder under her channel, The Ananda Pivot.

Her death was confirmed on Tuesday, January 13, after an emotional message, written by Bennett herself, was posted, accompanied with a smiling photo of the late content creator.

“I am not in pain, or tired. I can laugh, talk, and I can move,” she wrote.

“Reflecting in my last few months of my life, I am glad I didn’t go suddenly even WITH suffering. I finished my list.

“Even if you don’t believe in anything, I am feeding the earth, and my tree. I loved this life, and I’m grateful for the time.”

After months of testing and appointments with over 15 physicians and neuro specialists, Bennett was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in March 2023.

“I started to have some unexplained weakness in my right dominant hand,” she explained in a post in August 2023.

“I was at school and I tried to pinch a binder clip and I couldn’t, and from there, my weakness and issues related to balance continued to progress.”

Bennett revealed the disease was impacting her arms, hands, feet, as well as her ability to walk, breathe and talk normally.

While she began sharing content online in 2020 to promote her professional organisation business, the Ananda Edit, she changed the username to the Ananda pivot following her diagnosis.

“My world turned upside down. So many things to do from a personal standpoint. So many things to address from a disease standpoint. So many things to get in order,” she wrote at the time.

“When I thought about my business, I just felt like deleting the account and stepping away. But...that would just be one more thing this disease was taking from me. I’m still here. I can still do something with this, just in a new way. I needed to pivot. And so, the Ananda Pivot was born.”

Her most recent posts have documented how she navigated parenting two young boys and marriage to her husband Rusty all while her illness worsened.

Tributes have poured in for the content creator, with one follower remembering her as a “warrior”.

“What a warrior, so graceful and fierce,” she wrote.

“Seeing you handle this head on with nothing but grace moved me beyond time and space,” said another.

A third wrote, “The courage, clarity, and gratitude you carried through such a brutal disease is extraordinary. You finished your list, yes—but you also left a map for the rest of us. Thank you for showing us how to love this life, even with ALS.”