The Story Behind Heart Work
Real Magic
I have seen a group of strangers arrive in a beautiful place and leave as friends.
That is the magic of women gathering and sharing their stories, their heartaches, their fears and their joy. It is a curious, reliable magic — and probably one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.
Why Heart Work Retreats Exists
For years I’ve witnessed (and personally experienced) how difficult it is to find and connect with other women and build lasting friendships. The women who came before us used to share every aspect of their lives and participate as a beautiful collective in the changing of the seasons, fully present with each other to impart wisdom, share burdens, inspire and uplift.
In modern society, women are all too often siloed into a quiet, isolated existence, drowning in support of others and encouraged to burn themselves out in the name of self-sacrifice. This is a grave disservice to us all and something we should actively work to correct. Women need other women. We were never designed to do life in isolation. We need co-regulation. We need sisterhood. When women find their way back to one another, we heal together. We remember ourselves together. We can burn through shame together and we can validate and mirror each other.
I’m building a community of kind-hearted, open-minded women of all ages who value deep connection, nature, and beauty. My goal is to create time and space for them to meet each other and bond over shared adventures, stories, creativity, travel, photography, writing, and irresistible sisterhood. I am building the very community that I wish existed. What I long to experience and to inspire in the world. A place to find your tribe, your circle, your sisters, your soulmates.
These retreats will work on building up your inner worthiness and your divine feminine goddess. If we are rooted and firm in that, then we are less shaken by the storms of life. Heart Work Retreats are a place where women can say to each other, “I have wisdom” — and also, “I don’t have everything figured out.” There is power in storytelling, a raw and transformative rebirth. And that is exactly what I want to encourage in others: empowerment through vulnerability.
Where This Comes From
Everything about this path of building a safe, connected, creative, empowering space for women is an equal and opposite reaction to my past:
- I had a deeply religious, conservative and restrictive upbringing where the feminine was looked down upon and seen as lesser.
- Anything having to do with the natural world and it’s cycles was distrusted and vilified.
- I was taught not to trust my intuition, my own heart and or my desires.
- Growth, change and personal identity were discouraged in favor of stagnation and atrophy.
- The windows and light were blocked in the house where I grew up so naturally I built my whole photography career around chasing, painting and creating with light.
- Art, creativity and beauty were seen as impractical and unimportant.
- The female role that was modeled for me was completely abandoning yourself and having no identity outside of supporting others.
- I was bullied for my sense of style, so I want to make others feel as beautiful as they are.
- Positive and supportive female friends were few and far between.
- Sharing out loud with friends and exposing vulnerabilities is something I was unable to do for much of my early life.
- Writing was the only safe place for self-expression which is why it is so important to me.
What I Believe
You can be both soulful and frivolous: it’s the juxtaposition of things that fascinates me, the beautiful duality in all of us. Every retreat focuses on multiple forms of creativity because I truly believe art is just sharing your knowing and trying to be known. It doesn’t matter if you don’t consider yourself an artist. Every person has an innate creativity inside them and Heart Work Retreats aim to inspire you to embrace and cultivate that spark and explore it without expectation. I also believe that accessing that innate creativity can serve as a catalyst to unlock new chapters of your life.
My mission through Heart Work Retreats is:
- To empower women to live unfettered
- To create a space for deep connection
- To inspire change, awakening and forward movement
A Little More About Me
I was born with a travel obsession into a family who didn’t even have passports. At 24, I defied the odds and took off on my first international trip and have never slowed down since.
In 2013 I met my future husband, Russell, while wasting away in an oil & gas cubicle in Houston. In 2016, we took huge leap, sold most of what we owned and moved into an RV. I’ve now lived on the road in an RV full-time for the past 10 years, working as a professional photographer through Melodic View Photography and exploring national parks, mountains and coastline.
In 2023, Russell & I got married in our 50th state – Alaska! We also created a home base in Crossville, Tennessee that we can return to between adventures. My life-long love of travel has inspired me to share these beautiful places with other women and encourage them to expand their worlds and never stop exploring.
Come As You Are
Every age. Every story. Just bring an open heart and a playful spirit. I’d love for you to be part of this.