Elizabeth Edwards, a best-selling author and the driving force behind husband John Edwards’ political career before it was destroyed by his infidelity, has died of cancer. She was 61.

Elizabeth Edwards reportedly was not in any pain and was surrounded at home in North Carolina by family and friends, including her estranged husband, a former Democratic presidential candidate.

Her death came at 10:15 Tuesday morning, according to a family friend. The scene was described as “very peaceful.”

Hit the jump below to read the full article

Elizabeth Edwards, a best-selling author and the driving force behind husband John Edwards’ political career before it was destroyed by his infidelity, has died of cancer. She was 61.

Elizabeth Edwards reportedly was not in any pain and was surrounded at home in North Carolina by family and friends, including her estranged husband, a former Democratic presidential candidate.

Her death came at 10:15 Tuesday morning, according to a family friend. The scene was described as “very peaceful.”

The friend said, “Elizabeth did not want people to say she lost her battle with cancer. The battle was about living a good life and that she won.”

Family friends provided NBC News with this statement from the Edwards family:

“Elizabeth Anania Edwards, mother, author, advocate, died today at her home in Chapel Hill, surrounded by her family.

“Today we have lost the comfort of Elizabeth’s presence but she remains the heart of this family.

“We love her and will never know anyone more inspiring or full of life.

“On behalf of Elizabeth we want to express our gratitude to the thousands of kindred spirits who moved and inspired her along the way. Your support and prayers touched our entire family.

“In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Wade Edwards Foundation which benefits the Wade Edwards Learning Lab.” The Edwards’ son Wade died in a car accident at age 16 in 1996.

When news began to circulate that Elizabeth had taken a turn for the worse and her cancer had spread to her liver, her family announced Monday that her doctors had recommended against any additional treatment.

“She found out last week and is at peace with where she is right now,” PEOPLE magazine’s Sandra Westfall told TODAY co-anchor Matt Lauer Tuesday before Elizabeth passed away. “She has a home full of relatives, which is how she always wanted it. They are telling stories, looking at old photos, and having as many laughs as tears.”

John Edwards, from whom Elizabeth Edwards separated last year after he acknowledged fathering a child with a former aide to his unsuccessful vice presidential campaign, was with his wife and their three children: Cate, 28; Emma Claire, 12; and Jack, 10.

During an appearance on TODAY last year, Elizabeth Edwards said that while it was difficult not to be able to “lean” on the man she once called “my rock,” she thought it was important to not shut him out.

“For the children she’s put on a brave face, and kept that relationship intact. He’s at the house this week, helping with the children, getting takeout for the family that is visiting,” Westfall said.

Image: Elizabeth Edwards

Saul Loeb  /  AFP – Getty Images file

“I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious,” Elizabeth Edwards wrote before her death.

Agreeing with Lauer that it must be a difficult time for the children, Westfall said Elizabeth Edwards has been preparing them for her death for some time.

“She, years ago, starting writing a ‘dying letter,’ she called it, so she would have the advice to pass on and always be there with a mother’s wisdom when she couldn’t be there physically,” Westfall said.

Elizabeth Edwards wrote two best-selling books, “Resilience” and “Saving Graces,” about her long battle with cancer and the scandal surrounding her husband.

Elizabeth Edwards became an advocate in her own right for health care reform and for the poor, two issues that had driven her husband, too. In that work, she lacked his clout but also his baggage.

“Our country has benefited from the voice she gave to the cause of building a society that lifts up all those left behind,” President Barack Obama said.

Boosting husband’s career
Edwards was calculating and ambitious in her own right, as well. A shrewd attorney, Edwards contributed mightily to her husband’s rise in politics and acted conspicuously to prevent his fall.

In a riveting moment from the Democratic presidential primary campaign, the couple stood together in apparent harmony and loving mutual support in March 2007 to tell the country that her breast cancer, diagnosed in 2004, had returned, spread and could not be cured.

His campaign would press on, she said that day, because “it’s important that the American people have the opportunity to have a president like him.”

John Edwards quit the race after poor showings in the primaries that made Obama the Democratic nominee, and he and his wife retreated almost entirely from public life.

While she pleaded for privacy after revelations of his adultery, she also wrote a memoir — her second — that discussed how the affair repulsed her. She went on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to talk about it, but only

via MSNBC