HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY TO YOU (Forget the Eulogy) book by Sherrie Rose
HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY TO YOU (Forget the Eulogy) book by Sherrie Rose is now out!
This book was originally planned to coincide with Betty White’s 100th birthday celebration in 2022. Here’s the heartbreak: Betty White missed her 100th birthday by just 17 days. She passed away peacefully on New Year’s Eve 2021—just 17 days before her 100th birthday. The book’s publication was respectfully postponed and is now released in 2025, aligning with the U.S. Postal Service’s Forever stamp honoring Betty White.
Seventeen days before her 100th birthday.
She died on December 31, 2021, after living 99 years, 11 months, and 14 days of pure, unstoppable vitality. She was so close to the century mark that her 100th birthday celebration was already planned, the guest list finalized, the cake ordered.
But here’s what matters more than those 17 days: how she lived the previous 99 years.
Betty White didn’t coast into her 90s. She dominated them. At 93, she published two books.
At 88, she hosted Saturday Night Live, becoming the oldest person ever to do so, and won an Emmy for it. At 93, she was the star of Hot in Cleveland. At 99, she was still working, still sharp, still the Betty White the world adored.
She didn’t just work long. She worked joyfully. Her 80s and 90s weren’t a slow fade. They were a victory tour. Living to 100 isn’t about the number. It’s about the decades of purpose, joy, and reinvention you pack into the journey.
What the Book HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY TO YOU is About
Most people write off their 70s as “retirement” and their 80s as “make to 80, everything after is gravy” and 90s as “if I’m lucky.” Betty White rewrote that script entirely. She proved that your 80s and 90s can be some of your most productive, celebrated, and purposeful years, if you plan for it.
That’s why her story became the original publication launch date for HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY TO YOU (Forget the Eulogy). Not because she made it to 100, but because she lived like she would.
She didn’t prepare for an ending. She prepared for more. More laughter, more work, more impact, more life.
The 2025 Forever Stamp is honoring a beloved actress; it’s honoring a blueprint for longevity done right.
Betty White showed us how. HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY TO YOU shows you the plan. Well maybe not the plan per se, but a way to live and think long-range.
The book takes a unique approach to intentional living by using planning your 100th birthday party as a tool for examining how you want to live your life right now. The core philosophy is:
- “Forget the eulogy” – Instead of imagining what others might say about you when you’re gone, plan the celebration of your life while you’re here to enjoy it
- Planning your centennial celebration becomes a creative exercise that clarifies your priorities, relationships, and goals
- It’s described as part philosophy, part creative life design, helping you become someone worth celebrating for 100 years
In reply to the book release of Happy 100th Birthday To You: (Forget the Eulogy), Kristen wrote: I attended a leadership workshop with Doug Conant, a former CEO of Campbells soup, and he had us go through an exercise of writing our own obituary to get clear on our values and goals.
My response to Kristen: That’s a great connection. The eulogy exercise is a classic used by coaches. Eulogies use death and finality (fear based), asking, “What will people say when I’m gone?” Looking back with regret is weak.
With HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY TO YOU: (Forget the Eulogy) the focus is it flipped: 100th Birthday is vitality and vision, it asks, “What would I love to be celebrating when I turn 100?” That shift, envisioning your fullest life and who you are sharing it with, moves people from anxiety about death to excitement about possibility and living fully with longevity. Living forward with intention is very powerful!
The book draws inspiration from real centenarians and includes practical tools for:
- Strengthening relationships that sustain you
- Making choices aligned with reaching 100 healthy and fulfilled
- Living with intention rather than drifting through life
It’s a tribute to Betty White’s remarkable life and a guide for anyone wanting to design a legacy worthy life ready for celebrating, whether for yourself or someone you love.
Get the book here:
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999374761
Book Acknowledgements:
