If you’re in the mood for a good cry, here’s a news story that’ll do it. Little Elena Desserich was diagnosed with brain cancer when she was just five years old. She lost her battle with the disease just one year later. But while she’s gone, she’s definitely not forgotton. Elena made sure of that.

She may not have quite mastered writing yet, but Elena penned hundreds of notes to her family. She hid them everywhere: in sock drawers, backpacks, and tucked between the pages of books on the shelves. Now two years later, her parents are still finding her messages.

While finding the notes is bittersweet for the Desserich family, they hope they never stop. And they never will, with the family saving one, unopened note.

Now they’re telling the story of the notes in a book, which is guaranteed to be as weep-inducing as this news story!