Meet Hope Firsel
Hope Lutz Firsel is a Certified Divorce Life Coach who helps women transform the divorce process into a journey of clarity, confidence, and purpose. Drawing on her own experiences overcoming cancer, infertility, and divorce, she leads her thriving coaching practice and Divorce Recovery Group with a blend of strategic insight, emotional intelligence, and certifications in iPEC Coaching, Rapid Resolution Therapy, Certified Divorce Specialist, and Bruce Fisher’s Rebuilding curriculum. Currently pursuing certification in Internal Family Systems, Hope partners with individuals, legal professionals, and organizations to help women not just survive divorce, but rise stronger than ever.
What have you been fighting through?
Infertility, cancer, divorce after an 18-year marriage, the reinvention of my identity as a single woman and mother, and the rebuilding of my career and purpose.
Tell us your story.
I’ve lived through a series of life-altering chapters that I never could have scripted for myself — and each one has reshaped me in ways I’m still discovering.
Infertility: Years of longing and heartache before becoming a mother taught me patience, perseverance, and the beauty of hope against the odds.
Cancer: Facing a diagnosis shook my sense of security, but it also deepened my gratitude for life and sharpened my priorities.
Divorce after 18 years of marriage: It was a profound loss — of partnership, of dreams, and of the life I thought I’d always have — but also the beginning of reclaiming my voice and my future.
Motherhood through it all: Learning to co-parent and support my boys while modeling resilience and self-love has been both my greatest challenge and my proudest accomplishment. • Reinvention: I’ve built a new chapter as a divorce coach for women, using my personal experiences and professional training to guide others through their own storms with clarity, compassion, and strength. I’ve learned that life’s most painful moments can be the soil where resilience grows.
My story isn’t one of things going as planned — it’s one of rewriting the plan entirely, and finding joy, purpose, and self-worth along the way.
What helped you get through the hardest parts—or what’s helping you now?
Mindset shifts: Learning to release what I can’t control and focus on what I can. Letting go of the “shoulds” and the picture I thought life had to look like. Choosing to see endings as beginnings. I have worked with therapist, coaches and have studied the human mind and behaviors since I was 18.
People: My boys, whose love and resilience kept me moving forward. My parents, friends, and mentors who showed up without judgment, listened deeply, and reminded me who I was when I forgot.
Tools: Rapid Resolution Therapy, coaching, journaling, attending retreats and intentional planning to create small, consistent wins.
Rituals: Lighting Shabbat candles every Friday night as a moment of gratitude, stillness, and connection. Daily walks in nature to clear my mind and reconnect with myself.
Purpose: Using my story to help other women through divorce has turned my pain into purpose, giving meaning to even the hardest seasons. I’ve learned that healing isn’t about one big breakthrough — it’s about the small, steady choices you make to take care of yourself and stay connected to the people and practices that ground you.
What surprised you most about yourself in this fight?
That I could be both deeply broken and incredibly strong at the same time. I discovered that my capacity for resilience was far greater than I imagined — not because I didn’t feel the pain, but because I learned how to keep moving through it. I found courage in places I didn’t even know existed and realized I could rebuild a life I love, not in spite of my struggles, but because of them.
Where were you when you realized you were in a fight?
When I got the call, 15 years ago, my colon cancer was stage 3.
What’s one object, song, or place that carried you through this fight?
Being in nature — especially by the ocean. Standing at the shore reminded me that storms pass, waves keep moving, and even when the tide pulls back, it always returns. The rhythm of the water became a quiet teacher, showing me that life ebbs and flows, and that I, too, could rise again.
If you could give this chapter of your life a title, what would it be?
Waves, Warmth, and a New Beginning
Finish this sentence: I feel most like myself when…
I feel most like myself when I am coaching other women, and I can feel their energy shift — when hope returns to their voice and they start to see the strength they’ve had all along.
What’s one small thing you do now that you never would have done before this fight?
One small thing I do now that I would not have done if not for my struggles is pause to fully celebrate even the smallest wins, because I know now that every step forward, no matter how tiny, is proof of resilience.
What do you want other women to know if they’re in their own fight right now?
I want other women to know that you are stronger than you think, you are not alone, and even when it feels like everything is falling apart, you have the power to rebuild a life you truly love.
What’s next for you?
What’s next for me is continuing to grow my work as a divorce coach by expanding my Divorce Recovery Group, creating more spaces — in person, online, and in community — where women can heal, rebuild, and rise. I’m pursuing certification in Internal Family Systems and deepening my expertise in Bruce Fisher’s Rebuilding curriculum so I can bring even more powerful tools to my clients. I’m stepping into new collaborations, sharing my story on more stages and podcasts, and leaning fully into the life I’ve rebuilt here in Florida — one filled with purpose, connection, and possibility.
To learn more about Hope visit www.hopefirsel.com or follow her on Instagram: @hopefirsel
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