Imagine being in a space where your stories matter, where your voice is not only heard but celebrated. Imagine being part of a local (for Hamilton and area residents) retreat designed exclusively for women ready to embrace the power and wisdom of their years

In this weeklong memoir writing retreat, we’ll explore the richness of our past, the fullness of our present, and the expansive unknown of what’s still to come. This is not just about writing — it’s about reclaiming our stories and reminding the world, and ourselves, that we are vibrant, evolving, and wholly alive.

Women often come into their own in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond — not in spite of aging, but because of it. We've lived, we've loved, we've lost, and we've learned. Now is the time to put those experiences on the page, to find the deeper threads that connect the moments of our lives, and to make sense of the journey we’ve walked.

Through guided writing prompts, supportive conversation, and reflective exercises, you’ll have the opportunity to honor your past, uncover fresh insight about your present, and set intentions for the future.

To deepen the experience, each day will include gentle, accessible yoga sessions designed to reconnect you with your body — because when we move, we soften; when we soften, we open. This embodied practice will quiet the noise of the world, ground you in the present moment, and make space for your most authentic, creative voice to rise.

Whether you’ve never written a word, have volumes of journals tucked away or are a published writer, this retreat is a chance to reconnect with your inner spark, find companionship with like-minded women, and leave with a renewed sense of purpose.

Your life is not winding down, it’s opening up. And your voice, your truth, your story? It’s exactly what the world needs now.

 Your retreat leader: Anne Bokma

Anne is Hamilton-based journalist, author, writing coach and retreat leader. Her memoir, My Year of Living Spiritually: One Woman's Secular Quest for a More Soulful Life, was published by Douglas & McIntyre and won the 2020 Hamilton Literary Award for Nonfiction and the Kerry Schooley Book Award. She is a recipient of the City of Hamilton's Arts Award for Established Writers.

Anne writes The Other Side of Midlife, a bimonthly column on the unique experiences and current events affecting those in the third act of life. It was recently nominated for a Landsberg Award (named after trailblazing feminist journalist Michele Landsberg) by the Canadian Journalism Foundation.

Anne is also the founder of the 6-Minute Memoir event, which showcases storytellers sharing intimate tales on a theme and which has been running in Hamilton for 10 years.

Learn more about Anne here.

Your yoga instructor: Cheryl Fenn

After a decades-long long career as a registered nurse and a nursing professor, Cheryl became a certified yoga instructor in her retirement and has been teaching for 15 years. Currently she leads a popular Tuesday morning weekly yoga class at the Dundas Museum in Dundas, Ontario. Cheryl will lead our group in Hatha yoga and will also provide meditation, breathing and relaxation exercises. Poses will be adapted to suit all physical needs.

What to expect

Craft and share stories from your life with writing prompts that will get your creative juices flowing. Anne creates a safe and supportive setting for you to delve into the rich material of your memories to find the meaning in the experiences you’ve lived and learned from. You’ll receive guidance on the fundamental elements of memoir, and plenty of encouragement every step of the way to help you bring out the truth, emotion and authenticity of your stories.

Anne endorses the Amherst Writing Method (AWA), which holds that every person is a writer and every writer deserves a safe environment in which to experiment, learn and develop their writing.

Yoga and writing: The perfect combination

The combination of embodiment through yoga and helping participants claim their voices through writing their stories creates a simultaneously powerful and rejuvenating retreat experience.

During our week together, you will be guided in life-sustaining movement exercises and inspirational memoir teaching. You will be nurtured in the beautiful historic setting of the Dundas Museum and spend time in the company of a caring community of fellow retreat participants. This is a week that will help increase your capacity for resilience, joy, movement and creativity.

About the Dundas Museum

The Dundas Museum & Archives houses more than 16,000 artifacts. Its rich archival collections include historical records such as letters, diaries, photographs, and newspapers, which tell the stories of how people in the Dundas Valley have lived over the past two centuries and who they have become over time.

There’s room for 15 and we hope you’ll join us!

Life is short. Give yourself this gift of spaciousness to be creative, to explore, to engage in the healing practice of yoga, to relax and to make new friends. This is a time for you and a time to be together in community.

Prices & Details

Your retreat experience includes:

• 5 afternoon retreat sessions from 1:30-4:30 p.m.

• Daily 45-minute yoga instruction from Cheryl Fenn

• 2-hour writing workshop session with Anne Bokma

• Light snacks will be provided each day

• A one-houre private coaching session with Anne
  (to be scheduled within six months after the retreat. Value = $200)

• Free admission to the Dundas Museum

Pricing: Retreat fee: $469 + GST

BOOKING

If you are interested in this experience, please contact Anne.