Finding Yourself After Loss: A Retreat for Bereaved Mothers

Whispertree Retreat Center, Boonville, California

November 17-21, 2027.

A newer addition to Return to Zero: HOPE’s retreat offerings, Finding Yourself After Loss was created to support bereaved mothers as they navigate the ongoing journey of rediscovering themselves and their lives after loss.

This year marks our third gathering, building on the meaningful connections, personal exploration, and transformation experienced in our previous retreats.

Finding Yourself After Loss means creating space to reconnect with yourself, explore who you are now, and discover who you are becoming. The death of a baby or child changes us in profound ways, often reshaping our identity, relationships, priorities, and sense of purpose. Yet there are few spaces that invite us to explore these changes or consider what it means to find our way forward while continuing to carry our grief and love.

Here, you are invited to turn some of your attention toward yourself. Through movement, creative expression, reflection, and meaningful connection with other bereaved mothers, there is space to rediscover parts of yourself, explore new possibilities, and listen to what matters most to you now. Not to return to who you once were, but to make room for all that you have lived through and all that you are becoming.

A group of women except one person are in white dresses standing outdoors during sunset. The women are holding hands and one woman holds a yellow flower.

We invite you to join us in Northern California for a soul-nourishing retreat designed for bereaved mothers ready to reconnect with themselves, rediscover what matters most, and explore who they are becoming after loss.

You'll be part of a small, supportive circle of mothers who understand how profoundly loss can reshape our lives. Surrounded by the beauty of nature, you'll have dedicated time and space to turn inward, reconnect with your body, explore new possibilities, and nurture the parts of yourself longing for attention.

Private accommodations and all meals, workshops, and materials are included.

  • Somatic practices and movement to reconnect with yourself

  • Guided reflection exploring identity, purpose, and life after loss

  • Creative expression, art-making, and meaningful ritual

  • Heartfelt conversations and connection with other bereaved mothers

  • Quiet trails, nourishing meals, and space for rest and renewal

This is an intimate, immersive retreat for mothers at least one year beyond their loss who are ready to devote some time and care to themselves. Not to leave grief behind, but to explore how to live more fully alongside it, honoring all that has been while making space for what is yet to come.

Space is limited to 19 participants.

What to Expect

Each day will gently unfold with opportunities for self-exploration, meaningful connection, creative expression, and rediscovery. Through somatic practices, movement, reflection, and shared experiences, you'll be invited to explore how loss has shaped you, reconnect with parts of yourself, and discover what feels meaningful in your life now.

There is no expectation to have it all figured out or know what comes next. This retreat is about creating space to listen to yourself, explore new possibilities, and reconnect with who you are and who you are becoming, while honoring all that you have loved, lost, and lived through.

Over the course of our days together, you will:

  • Be nourished with delicious, lovingly prepared meals each day

  • Spend unhurried time outside in nature, surrounded by beauty and quiet

  • Move, breathe, and rest through gentle, body-based practices like yoga and sound healing

  • Laugh, cry, stretch out, let go

  • Share authentic connection and heartfelt conversation with other bereaved mothers who understand

  • Relax and receive–no roles to play, no mask to wear

  • Take space away from everyday life to just be

  • Remember what it feels like to be held, supported, and fully human

A circular arrangement of chairs with tote bags on each, on a wooden floor in a warmly lit room with yellow walls, large windows, and some artwork.

Everything is offered with choice and spaciousness. There is no expectation, no pressure, only permission.

Together, we’ll make space to rediscover interests and passions, consider new directions in work and life, reconnect with what matters most, and explore new possibilities. Our creative experiences will offer opportunities for self-expression, play, and discovery, allowing you to explore different parts of yourself and create something meaningful to carry home.

Meet your retreat facilitators

We are honored to hold this sacred space for you as you attend this retreat.

A woman with shoulder-length brown hair wearing an olive green turtleneck sweater, sitting indoors near a window with patterned curtains.

Betsy Winter

Betsy Winter is a somatic coach, nationally recognized leader in perinatal loss, trauma and bereavement support, and is the Director of Community Support for Return to Zero HOPE.

She plays an important role in providing trauma-informed and inclusive support and resources for bereaved parents and their providers.

Her journey began in 2015 with the terminal diagnosis and subsequent loss of her daughter, Eliza, at 41 weeks gestation. This significant experience inspired her dedication to guiding bereaved parents toward emotional healing, community connections, and the discovery of renewed meaning and purpose through their grief and love.

A woman with short brown hair, wearing a beige turtleneck sweater, sitting at a wooden table with a cup of tea, looking at the camera and smiling.

Kiley Hanish

Kiley is dedicated to helping people through transformational growth and healing after loss. After suffering the stillbirth and loss of her first child Norbert, Kiley co-created the Emmy-nominated film Return to Zero to break the silence and stigma around pregnancy and infant loss for parents around the world. The film led to her non-profit organization Return to Zero: HOPE, where she advocates for and guides bereaved families in reclaiming their purpose, meaning, and healing after their tragic loss.

As an occupational therapist and speaker, she is widely recognized as a thought leader at the intersection of mental health and the loss during the perinatal period.

Throughout the week, you’ll have access to a variety of optional offerings, including:

  • Outline of two hands holding a heart

    Story-Sharing Circles

    Where you can speak your truth, hear others’, and feel the power of being witnessed in a space where nothing needs to be explained.

  • A blue line drawing of a steaming coffee cup.

    Rituals and Ceremonies

    To honor your baby or babies and give form to your love and longing.

  • Outline of two hands stacking blocks.

    Small Group Gatherings

    For heartfelt conversation and connection with other bereaved mothers.

  • Magician's wand with sparkles or magic effects around it

    Creative Practices

    Like art-making and journaling to explore memory, emotion, and meaning

  • Sun, cloud, and mountain landscape icon.

    Nature-Based Experiences

    To reconnect with the earth, your body, and the present moment.

  • Line drawing of a person sitting cross-legged in a meditative pose

    Gentle Movement and Somatic Support

    To soften, soothe, and bring breath back into your body.

  • Line drawing of a fork, knife, and spoon placed on a plate

    Nourishing Meals and Communal Spaces

    Where stories can be shared over tea, around a table, or in quiet companionship

  • Clock showing 12:00

    Unstructured Time

    To rest, walk, write, cry, breathe–whatever your heart needs.

A two-story barn-style building with a metal roof, brown wooden exterior, and orange sliding barn doors, surrounded by a grassy field, picnic tables with umbrellas, and trees in the background.
lodging options & pricing

Your Sanctuary for the Week

Accommodations

From luxury platform tents surrounded by nature to private ensuite rooms and beautifully remodeled barn accommodations, each space offers a peaceful place to rest and recharge. All accommodations are private occupancy, thoughtfully appointed, and designed with comfort in mind. Bathroom options vary between private and shared facilities, with pricing to accommodate different needs and budgets.

Making It Possible

We want this retreat to be within reach. Scholarships are available for those needing financial assistance. We also encourage crowdfunding through platforms like GoFundMe, giving loved ones a meaningful way to support your experience. Asking for help can feel vulnerable, but many retreat alumni have found their communities eager to contribute.

Whatever accommodation you choose, you'll have a quiet, welcoming space to call your own.

Scholarships
Crowdfunding Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Our goal is to offer unconditional support for all parents who have experience losses on the journey to parenthood, no matter what their age, situation, or stage of their grief journey.

If you have other questions that have not been answered here please email us.

  • Visit this page for current scholarships available.

    Scholarship availability varies and is listed on the retreat information page when offered; if none are posted, we encourage attendees to consider crowdfunding, which many grieving mothers have successfully used to make participation possible. To learn more about crowdfunding options click HERE.

  • Yes. We have had women who are pregnant attend the previous retreats. Pregnancy after loss can be filled with anxiety, and we hope that you can connect with others at the retreat who have walked this part of the journey and can share their experiences with you.

  • Yes. Although the majority of the people attending the retreat have experienced the death of a child during or shortly after pregnancy, we know that grief of a young child is similarly heartbreaking.

  • Yes. We know that if you have terminated a pregnancy, it was the hardest, most painful decision of your life. You are grieving the death of your baby.

  • Finding Yourself After Loss is designed for mothers who are at least one to two years beyond their loss and have had meaningful opportunities to grieve, process, and honor their loss experiences. This retreat is for those who feel ready to turn some of their attention toward themselves—to explore how loss has changed them, reconnect with their interests, identity, and sense of purpose, and discover who they are becoming.

    This doesn't mean your grief is behind you or that you need to have everything figured out. Rather, it's about being in a place where you have some capacity and curiosity to explore life alongside your grief, with a focus on rediscovery, growth, and what comes next.

  • No. The pain from the pregnancy and infant loss never goes away. If it has been a long time since your loss but you feel like it's the right moment to dedicate special time to your healing, please join us.

  • Our goal is to create a space for people of all faiths to process their grief. We do not bring a specific religion into the retreat curriculum, however all participates are free to include their belief system in their own experience. There will be elements of spirituality available in connecting with your self and your loss experience, but it is up to each participant on how they do this.

  • Unfortunately, this is an adults-only retreat.

  • Unfortunately, at this time the retreats are currently for women only.

Location and Travel
Join the waitlist for future retreats

  • “I met women who remembered how funny they are and women who found the voices they had silenced years ago. I met women who relearned how to build friendships and communicate their needs. I met women who found the courage to face and conquer hard truths in their lives. I began to understand how much I need to feel in control and started to learn how to let it go. I know these lessons and discoveries are going to help us lead richer, more authentic lives.”

    Meagan

  • “The retreat marked a major turning for me. I finally feel like I’m coming out from under the dark cloud I’ve been under since we lost out daughter last year.”

    Jamie

  • “I felt so loved supported and nurtured at the retreat. It is such a uniquely amazing experience that no words can really describe the benefits that it has not only to your healing but to also the way you love and care for yourself.”

    Terry-Ann

  • “There were beautiful women in all stages of the grief journey and we all learnt so much from each other. I learnt so much about myself and most importantly the tools to make change in my life and how to really connect with my Angels.”

    Louise

  • “I have finally felt comforted, validated, and listened to. I want to live my life with love and gratitude for what I have been given...my beautiful husband, family, friends...most importantly I am grateful for Johan and Gabe...They complete me and make me a mother. ”

    Kaitlyn

  • “To be surrounded by women who weren’t afraid to speak my babies names, to ask me about my journey through this thing we call grief, to look at my babies photos and other memorabilia without complete horror and to know and to absolutely understand what it feels like to have a baby die, was not only a phenomenal experience, but was truly life altering! I not only made some like long connections with some beautiful women, but I also left feeling a stronger sense of myself, as a woman, as a mother and as a wife.”

    Lisa