Getty Lauren Duski performs on 'The Voice.'
“The Voice” star Lauren Duski took to Instagram on January 9 to announce the death of her mother, Janis Duski.
The season 12 runner-up wrote an emotional post detailing her mother’s achievements and her most notable characteristics. Although Lauren Duski offered no cause of death, she alluded to her mother’s struggle with mental health, noting that it was, “nothing to be ashamed of.”
In her post, Duski revealed that her mother died on January 5 at the age of 59. “Said goodbye to my best friend and hero this past Friday,” she wrote. “My mom was the greatest human I’ve ever known.”
Duski also included several pictures of her mother in a slideshow.
Lauren Duski Honors Her ‘Selfless’ Mother
Duski wrote about her mother’s ability to love. “She offered her entire being — heart and soul to everyone she encountered and always held up the mirror to remind you of how wonderful and special you were,” she wrote. “She set the bar above the moon.”
She also wrote about her mother’s professional accomplishments. “She was an endless dreamer. brilliant. an absolute powerhouse. Top of her class AND president in dental school. Served as a captain in the United States Air Force,” she wrote.
“She pioneered the Wolverine Patriot Project alongside the University of Michigan School of Dentistry and made it her mission to provide oral health care to disabled and homeless Michigan military veterans.”
She shared that people often called her mother “Yoda for her endless wisdom, energy, wit and humor. She was selfless in every way. She never quit.”
Duski also addressed the issue of mental health, writing, “If you’re struggling, do not be ashamed. … Your mental health is nothing to be ashamed of and neither is talking about it.”
She ended the post, “We have the opportunity to save a generation and beyond. Say ‘I love you’ every chance you get. Don’t wait. You never know the true impact you have on those around you. I love you, mom. Forever. May you rest in glorious peace.”
Grieving Through Her Music
Duski has a history of being open about losing loved ones. In a March 2019 interview with Think Country Music, she spoke about the pain and emotional connection to her EP, “Midwestern Girl.” On the track “The Weather (Grandpa’s Song),” she found a way to process the loss of her grandmother just a few years prior.
“We lost my Grandma two Christmases ago. We knew she was sick. I was prepared for that,” she said. “What I wasn’t prepared for, was watching my Grandfather pick up the pieces and move on. … Every time I call him, every time I talk to him, he could only talk about the weather.”
In a 2019 interview with Building Our Own Nashville, Duski opened up about her personal struggles with mental health. “To be completely transparent, I have struggled since high school with heavy insecurity and anxiety,” she revealed.
It wasn’t until she embraced her music, and her fans, that Duski took control of her mental health. “I realized I had let fear hold me back from the one thing that brings me the most life — music,” she said. “Two years ago I offered to be a Pen Pal with my fans, and through hundreds of vulnerable letters, I finally came to a place of ‘holy cow, vulnerability isn’t a weakness and it truly only brings you closer to people.'”
Despite her previous struggles, Duski says she no longer feels shame about being open about her mental health. “It’s a pretty emotional topic for me. I am so thankful. Because of them I finally had the courage to share my insecurities publicly and found clarity.”