In writing her daughter's obituary, Deborah Wagman didn't yield to the temptation to gloss over her daughter's life, recounting "white petticoats and sunsets and fields of daisies."

Instead, she express something more, providing a brutal honesty that made the obituary a must-read on the Rapid City Journal website.

Daniel Simmons-Ritchie of the Journal staff penned a story from his conversation with Wagman. His story -- The death of an alcoholic daughter; the hope of an anguished mother -- appears with the obituary of Erin Wagman.

Simmons-Ritchie's story begins:

Erin Wagman was a painter, a cyclist and the mother of a 9-year-old boy.

She was also an alcoholic, and that addiction eventually overrode all the good things in her life.

Two weeks ago, at the age of 42, Wagman died of acute alcohol poisoning at a friend's apartment in Rapid City.

Wagman's life, and her needless death, were captured by her mother, Deborah Wagman, on Oct. 24 in one of the most well-read obituaries to ever appear on the Rapid City Journal website.

And here is how Deborah Wagman began the obituary:

Erin Wagman, also known as Erin Borgmann, died of acute alcohol poisoning on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013, in Rapid City. She was 42-years-old. She died alone.

Click here to read the full story and here to read the obituary.

