Watercolor © Carla Hoopes
My life changed forever when my sixteen-year-old daughter, Aliza, was killed in a car accident just days before Christmas in 1996.
She lived for two days before we made the heartbreaking decision to let her go and donate her organs, giving others the gift of life through our greatest loss.
For years, I convinced myself that my grief wasn't as devastating as someone else's. It took me decades to understand that pain doesn't need to be compared to be real.
Today, I help others do the same, so they can reconnect with themselves and discover that healing isn't about forgetting what happened. It's about learning to carry it with love, courage, and hope.