Honoring Your Loss: A Retreat for Bereaved Mothers
November 4-8, 2026
Whispertree Retreat Center, Boonville, California
At the heart of Return to Zero is the Honoring Your Loss Retreat. Since 2014, we’ve hosted over 20 powerful gatherings for hundreds of bereaved mothers, each one a testament to the healing that becomes possible when grief is met with care, compassion, and community. This year marks our 11th time returning to Whispertree, a place we hold sacred. The land itself seems to know sorrow and invites deep restoration.
Honoring your loss means exactly that: creating space to truly honor your baby or babies, your grief, and your story. Our culture rarely makes room for this kind of openness. Here, your pain is understood without explanation. You can speak freely about your babies without worrying about making anyone uncomfortable.
In that shared understanding, something shifts. There is space for moments of peace, of lightness, even laughter, because you no longer have to carry the weight of grief alone or prove the depth of your loss.
We invite you to join us in Northern California for a soul-nourishing retreat designed for bereaved mothers who long to feel less alone in their grief.
You’ll be part of a small, supportive circle held in a cozy natural setting. Private or shared accommodations and all meals, workshops, and materials are included.
Ceremonies to honor your baby/ies
Shared stories and community
Gentle movement and somatic healing
Evening art-making and ritual
Quiet trails and nourishing meals
This is a high-touch, immersive retreat for those early in grief or those who feel they haven’t had the space to truly honor it.
Space is limited to 19 participants.
What to Expect
Each day will gently unfold with opportunities for sharing, slowing down, and tending to your grief in community. You’ll be invited to follow what feels right for you—whether that’s speaking your baby’s name aloud, sitting quietly in reflection, or simply being surrounded by others who understand. This retreat is not about doing more, it’s about making space for what’s been carried alone for too long.
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
Everything is offered with choice and spaciousness. There is no expectation, no pressure, only permission to grieve, remember, connect, and heal, in your own time and in your own way.
You’ll have the opportunity to bring and share meaningful items (photos, keepsakes, or special mementos) that honor your baby and your story. These treasures will be part of a shared altar, a sacred space where each baby is lovingly acknowledged and remembered. You’ll also be invited to take part in guided art sessions where you can create your own keepsakes, tender expressions of your love and a way to carry this experience home with you.
Meet your retreat facilitators
We are honored to hold this sacred space for you as you attend this retreat.
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.
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.
Your sanctuary for the week
Accommodations
Whether you prefer sleeping under the stars or curling up indoors, we offer a range of thoughtfully curated accommodations — all private occupancy, all beautiful, and all designed to feel like a sanctuary just for you.
From luxury platform tents where you can fall asleep to the sounds of nature, to private ensuite rooms in a stunning on-property home, to charming remodeled barn rooms with modern comfort, every space invites you to exhale, settle, and feel held. Some accommodations include private bathrooms; others offer access to a beautifully appointed shared bathhouse. All are aesthetically considered, clean, and peaceful.
Accommodations are priced differently depending on the space, giving you options to choose what works best for your needs and budget.
Making It Possible
We want this retreat to be within reach. Scholarships are available for those who need additional support with the registration fee — please don't let finances be the thing that stands between you and this experience.
We also encourage you to consider crowdfunding. Many of our retreat alumni have used platforms like GoFundMe to invite their communities to contribute toward their retreat — and found that people genuinely want to help. Often, loved ones just don't know how. A crowdfunding campaign gives them a clear, concrete way to show up for you. It can feel vulnerable to ask, and it can also be surprisingly moving to receive.
No matter which accommodation you choose, you'll have a quiet place to land at the end of each day — a space that is entirely yours.
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.
-
No. We have had people attend the retreat whose loss was as recent as 3 weeks and as long ago as 35 years.
-
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.
-
If you have any special requests, please write them in the "Additional Comments" section of the registration page. We will try our hardest to meet your expectations but cannot make any guarantees.