Retreat Testimonials

““Thank you for providing the most beautiful backdrop imaginable and a trusted space in which to create. “”

““Bring your open heart, your courage, your pain and your joy. Expect magic!””

““If you desire transformation, attend this retreat. Expect vulnerability to arise in the safety of a caring group. Expect to be opened wide so that your writing voice has space from the clutter to sing!””

““I can’t imagine ever going on another retreat because it would never be able to stack up against the beauty of this week. I feel it changed me in ways I could never have envisioned.””

““Very special group retreat to nourish your creativity.””

““A WOW retreat is a safe and luxurious place to be still and to create, and to become friends with writing. It is a community of women with wisdom to share.” ”

““It was delicious. That every little detail was taken care of — all I had to do was arrive open. How special.””

““Give yourself this gift. If you want time, space, and encouragement to write, go on a WOW retreat. It is very inspiring to be around other people who write. It will give you hope and space to pursue your passion.” ”

““Prepare yourself for a life changing, transformative experience.” ”

“I was invited to attend my first WOW retreat by my BFF to celebrate our 60th birthdays together in Tuscany. Having never written for anyone but myself prior to WOW, I said yes to celebrating our 40-year friendship and to being together for an extended period of time. At the WOW retreat, I was encouraged and thrilled to express myself as a writer. The experience was supportive all around, the facilitators, the participants, the setting, and the program all unleashed the voice inside to the written page. Creativity is contagious in WOW’s group shares. I learned to just write it all down, let it out and see what it becomes. I continue to attend as many virtual WOW classes as I can and encourage others to give it a try. I love the freshness, short prompts and writes to just get jump in…. often into very deep waters from places like a junk drawer, or a recipe, or a tree out the window. Grateful to the WOW team for opportunities to write together and separately.”

“What is it like to go on a Wide Open Writing Retreat?

“It is so much more than writing, but of course it is that. It is being loved and cared for in a way, frankly, that I’ve not felt before. A hand on my shoulder in the quiet mornings is just one way that I feel supported. It’s not about positive feedback, but there is that too. It is about being seen and acknowledged as a writer, whatever your level or experience is.

It’s the love boat on shore if you want it to be. It is the wind and sea and a rare nakedness and acceptance. It is compassion when you cry from your own words, as I am doing now.

And the writing, Dulcie and Nancy take us diving deep like the many pelicans crashing into waves for food. We are safe to go where we’ve never gone before only to be nurtured when we get there. What a surprise!””

““WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?“ I said to myself as I waited on the dock to take me to a men’s writing retreat on a Maine island. I had written some things over the past sixty years…. but a writer? With other writers?

It was the concept of “Wide Open Writing,” encouraging no judgement, write from your heart, that drew me in and gave me the courage to risk writing and sharing with “accomplished“ (I was sure) authors. Ideas presented, time to write, opportunity to share…two hearty claps from the group…no more, no less, gave rise to a feeling of competency in my own writing, in my own way. As a group we each explored our individuality on paper and aloud.

We sat by the campfire, looked out over the ocean and up at the stars and shared some of who we were.

I’m sure glad I took that risk.
”

“I received more than I ever expected! Your kindness and openness promoted creativity. It is a step into paradise which promotes the creative juices to flow.”

“I would say that this was absolutely the best writing retreat I’ve ever attended and I’ve been to a few. I got a bonus perk of more insight into myself.”

“Great team. You all provide safety, boundless inspiration, curiosity, acceptance, joy, and love! Beautiful, I am grateful!”

“I came to engage with a community of writers, to share work and to experiment with my writing. The prompts offer such an opportunity to take risks! I’d tell people: “Do it for your writing, do it for yourself and do it for your heart.”

“Being at the WOW retreat in Maine was the greatest gift after years of isolation and creative hum-drum. It was truly a chrysalis experience and it would not have even been within reach for me without the generous support of others through the scholarship I received. Looking back now, first of all, I just want to be back there with all the beautiful people I met and to be back with the fog and the ocean, and secondly, I am amazed at how alchemical and nourishing the retreat was for me spiritually as well as creatively. It was sacred. It was holy. It was adventurous. It was effortless.”

“Life changing, eye opening, creative, soulful, worth every penny.”

“DO IT!’. Life changing. WOW wonderful magic. So glad to have found your coven! Precious gift!”

“You are in for a wild, bucking ride. Harness your demons and soar!”

“Be prepared to write your heart wide open. This retreat will either change, deepen, radicalize or solidify the way you think about and experience creativity.”

“It all worked beautifully. I am going home with a full belly and full soul/spirit.”