Soul Widows, an organization providing a variety of healing resources for young widows under the age of 60, will hold its bi-annual retreat in Tryon Feb. 17-19 at Marilyn’s Melrose Inn.
The retreat will provide ample time for supportive sharing and teaching as well as healing through an art activity. It will be led by Mandy Eppley, M.A., LCP, who has her “second home” in Tryon, and Soul Widows founder Elizabeth Berrien.
The mission of Soul Widows is to help young widows, regardless of socio-economic status, who have suffered the loss of their partner or spouse to reclaim healthy and productive lives. According to Berrien, Soul Widows holds a vision of shifting how grief is viewed in the world – moving from shame and isolation to unveiling grief’s transformative gifts.
Scholarships are available for those who cannot afford to pay the full fees for weekend retreats.
The organization’s website, www.soulwidows.org, serves as the hub for details about the services being offered, registering and paying for them, resources for dealing with grief, as well as stories of hope.
Soul Widows was founded by Elizabeth (Woods) Berrien. By the age of 27, Berrien had already experienced the loss of a child and her husband who was serving in Afghanistan. The sudden and unexpected death of her 31-year-old late husband, Brian, occurred on Aug. 14, 2009. These experiences, she said, brought her to create Soul Widows in March 2010, a space for other women in a similar situation of heartache and upheaval.
Mandy Eppley is an established therapist who has practiced in Charlotte, N.C. for more than 18 years, specializing in grief. Eppley serves as the Soul Widows therapist and co-leads the Soul Widows weekend retreats.
– article submitted by Elizabeth (Woods) Berrien