Hope Abides

My Journey Through Grief

By: Charlotte Liptack

Narrated by: Jessica Rowe

On August 15, 2014, I received a phone call that would forever change my life. My husband of 19 years, Larry, and only child, nine-year-old Landon, had just died in a plane crash. This is my survival story. I say survival because at times I thought I would die of a broken heart. Although this story is the raw, vulnerable truth of grief, my survival is anchored in hope and faith that was shaken to its core. God met me right where I was and walked with me on the most difficult and burdensome journey of my life. My prayer is that my story helps pave the path for others who are on this difficult journey of surviving grief.

About the Author:

Charlotte was born and raised in North Texas until moving to Houston in 1995 after marrying Larry. In 2004, she gave birth to a son, Landon. She served as an educator her entire career. On August 15, 2014, Charlotte received a phone call that changed her life. Her husband and son had just died in a plane crash. Charlotte says, “The years have been difficult and yet God has given me hope and peace that really does surpass all understanding.”

©2022 Charlotte Liptack (P)2022 Charlotte Liptack

Critic reviews

"Horrific things happen to good people without rational explanation. Charlotte lost her entire family in a plane crash. On April 1, 1990, I lost my wife Ellen, my entire family, in a car crash. We had been married for 77 days. Charlotte and I are both Christians, and we both struggled to understand how the “kind and just” God we had been taught to believe in and trust could allow us to be hurt so badly. Through all the tears, anger, and relapses that were triggered when a special song came on the radio, we both realized God loved us by putting Larry, Landon, and Ellen in the center of our lives. Hope Abides: My Journey Through Grief is not a step-by-step instruction book to overcome unbearable grief. Instead, Charlotte’s book clearly shows the only true path forward from despair is faith in God. Please listen and believe." (Pete Olson, United States Congressman, Texas Congressional District 22, 2009-2021)

"Charlotte Liptack has done the impossible—she fully and wholly describes grief in all of its brutal entirety. As a mother who has lost a child, I never thought it possible to describe the pain—not just the emotional and mental agony, but the actual physical pain—but she absolutely nails it. And while she reminds us that losing a spouse makes us a widow and losing a parent makes us an orphan, there is no word for a parent who loses a child. But if there ever is such a word, Charlotte Liptack will be the one to invent it." (Kathie Truitt, author of False Victim)

"Hope Abides: My Journey Through Grief is an incredibly open and honest book filled with the real emotions and genuine faith of Charlotte Liptack’s survival journey. Liptack’s strength and vulnerability allows listeners to understand the stages of grief and the healing process when faced with tragic loss. The importance of a strong dependence on faith is evident throughout. This book will have a lifelong impact on everyone who listens to it." (Koda Martin, NFL offensive lineman, former student)

Shared by friend of the author

While our circumstances for grief are very different there are many life similarities which caused our shared grief. Well written. Advise is good and I will attempt to take up journaling more consistently.

Absolutely wonderful book

Caution a: new age book is referenced as part of her help. Hope Abides is a very good book and nicely narrated. I suggest it highly. I am so very sorry she lost her beautiful family. You can hear the unending love she has for them in each word she writes.