A Healing Weekend Getaway

October 19, 2025

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I will guide a weekend of emotional healing on the Connecticut shore. And you're invited. 

Many of us are turned off to poetry because a high school English teacher thought poetry is about answers. Poetry is not about answers, it’s about questions. And the kind of healing verses we’ll talk about during my upcoming poetry retreat can go a long way toward smoothening some of life’s rough edges.

Numerous studies have shown that writing poetry has exceptional healing power over emotional trauma, with general enhancement of immune system function, fewer physical symptoms, reduced pain, and better sleep.

I will guide a weekend of emotional healing — “Writing for Wellbeing: Emotional Healing through Expressive Writing” — at Mercy by the Sea Retreat and Conference Center in Madison, Connecticut, November 7 to 9. 

You’re invited. Or you might think about gifting a friend or loved one with this restorative, getaway weekend in a beautiful, peaceful, and inspirational setting on the Connecticut shore. 

The healing poems I introduce to participants are easy to understand, beautiful, uplifting, and able to help us come to terms with the stresses of a bad diagnosis, a divorce, death of a loved one – just about any emotional trauma we face.

We discuss a poem, spend twenty minutes writing something in response, and then participants share if they want to. It’s a supportive, no-critique, safe space – not an academic class about writing better, but more a contemplative approach to feeling better.

The flow of the weekend will run like this:
• The science of Expressive Writing & its therapeutic benefits
• Poetry versus journaling
• How writing a poem can help you triumph over trauma 
• My two secrets for writing a healing poem 
• Curing loneliness through writing poems
• Writing poetry for self-discovery, self-healing & self-reliance 
• Life’s silver linings – Humor, Gratitude, Hope
• Cherishing yourself 

Here's what some of my past participants have said about their experience:
• "Your class has opened a new world to me, and I'm so appreciative.”
• “Your classes provided a very positive experience, opening up the possibility of using poetry to deal with the complex emotions felt by cancer patients. I will treasure these memories in the future, and plan to continue on this path of self-discovery and appreciation for everyday life.”
• “Writing poems has been a great outlet for me and I thank you so much for introducing me to this. It’s very therapeutic and healing.” 

The details:
• Dates: Friday, November 7 - Sunday, November 9, 2025
• Price: Single Occupancy $465; Double Occupancy $410 per person (All rooms have ensuite baths; price includes all meals from Friday dinner through Sunday breakfast)
• Commuters: $200, which includes dinner Friday night, and lunch & dinner Saturday