Thread by @nytimes

A father’s cowboy boots. A pair of glasses. A prayer shawl.

This is what loss looks like. nyti.ms/3cTlLOK

We asked readers to share photos of objects that reminded them of loved ones who died over the last year.

We may not be able to honor the lives of those we lost together, but these images and interviews form a virtual memorial. nyti.ms/3cTlLOK

Margaux Nelson-Wade wishes she had taken this zebra figurine with her when she visited her best friend, Sydney Fitzgerald, in the hospital this past August, just before she died at 23. “I know she would’ve loved to have been able to hold it one last time,” she said.

Mary Horan keeps this music box on her kitchen table. She plays it every day, the last gift her husband, David Horan, gave her before he died at 66. She hasn't been able to hold a memorial service yet.

Lauren Albanese’s grandmother, who died of complications from Covid last year, had ordered this sweater years ago from a catalog when she found out she was becoming a grandma. It was her favorite sweater.

A wedding ring. An incense burner. A cast iron skillet.

See more objects honoring the lives of those we lost. nyti.ms/3cTlLOK