Honey Grief Retreat

Grieving is a human capacity carried within each of us ~ yet cultivated by few.

For years, our team (Brenda, Colby, Michael, and Dan) have held Honey Grief space exclusively for ALS caregivers and families. Now, we’re opening it to anyone carrying loss—a spouse, sibling, parent, partner, or friend.

This is not clinical therapy. It’s ritual-centered healing, inspired by Francis Weller’s The Wild Edge of Sorrow. We gather, we honor, we share, and—yes—we even laugh. You’ll leave not depleted, but enervated, lighter, and part of a new community.

This intimate retreat is a ritual-centered space for honoring love, tending grief, and remembering what remains. After facilitating over a dozen Honey Grief retreats for Compassionate Care ALS families and caretakers, we are honored to bring this experience to the sacred ground of Won Dharma Center and to have the opportunity to serve a broader community of folks suffering from loss.

We invite you to join us in a shared circle of healing, reflection, laughter, tears, and deep remembrance.

About the Team

Michael Hodgkins
Michael has been in service for over 35 years. His passion for elders, family, men’s work, recovery and the Red Sox’s has been a blessing to many! Michael’s deep compassion, listening skills, sense of humor and wide open heart have allowed him to help many in their final hours. Working as a chef and manager in the food services / hospitality industry as well as a contractor further honed his people skills. Michael is a founding member of the Berkshire Men’s Council and has helped organize and facilitate men’s retreats for 30 years.

His passion for self-development and recovery is evidenced by the many people he has sponsored. After watching and sometimes helping his wife work with the elderly she invited him to help. In the spring of 2015 he became a caregiver for terminally ill men. In 2019 Ron Hoffman, the executive director of CCALS, called him and asked him to work with a client and that started his journey with helping people with ALS. After that first client he knew that was to be his life’s focus.

In October 2022 with the help of Brenda Fox, Michael hosted the first Honey Grief retreat in Falmouth, MA. They have facilitated over a dozen more since then. Michael lives in northwestern Connecticut with his beloved wife, Nancy. He has three daughters. He is a proud veteran of the US Navy.

Brenda Truelson Fox, M. Div.
Brenda's combined passion and expertise in spiritual care, trauma recovery, grief work, and mindfulness has led her 30 year career as a Chaplain. After losing her dad to ALS, she joined the team at Compassionate Care ALS to support families across the country and around the world impacted by the terminal neuromuscular disease. Prior to Brenda's longstanding involvement with CCALS, she served alongside refugees, survivors of torture, and hospice patients. Brenda also dedicates time to providing spiritual care for communities in crisis following natural disasters. 

Her experience and training in the Peace Corps, Chicago Theological Seminary, Shalem Institute, Orphan Wisdom School, and Upaya, enliven her practices of deep listening and recognizing resilience. Brenda is devoted to expanding our human narrative towards resourcefulness, creativity and capacity building. The mysteries of love, grief, community and ritual are fertile grounds for wisdom and healing to emerge in the midst of unthinkable circumstances.

Colby Lewis
Colby has been assisting with and facilitating workshops and trainings for over 35 years. A lifelong serial entrepreneur, he brings warmth, presence, and lived experience to group spaces. These days, Colby is focused on playing music, spending time with family, and supporting meaningful work that helps people gather, heal, and remember.

Dan Ruderman
Dan Ruderman is unabashed about his willingness to talk about love, death, grief and all the ways these intimate moments make our lives more meaningful. With a degree in Human Development from Cornell University and certificates in Ericksonian Hypnosis, NLP, Rapid Coherence Integration and the Erotic Blueprints, he brings humor, kindness and wisdom to everything he does. Ritual work and deep connection infuse his work with individuals and groups.

What's included

• Sacred circles & group sharing
• Guided reflection & journaling
• Soundbath & meditation
• Gentle yoga & nature walks
• Nourishing meals & time for rest

The Schedule

Friday 
3:00pm Arrival
4:30pm Gathering circle 
Dinner 5:30
7pm Introductions/Gathering circle
REST

Saturday
5:30-6:30 Won Darma am meditation (optional)
6:30- 7:00am Yoga (optional)
7am Breakfast
8:30am   Sacred Circle
12 Lunch/Free time 
2:30 Sacred Circle
5:30 Dinner
7:00pm Soundbath
REST

Sunday
5:30am Won Dharma meditation
6:30 Yoga (optional)
7am Breakfast
8:30-11am Closing Circle
Pack up
12 Lunch
Departure after lunch

Limited to 20 participants

• Single Occupancy: $735
• Double Occupancy: $635

(Rate includes lodging, facilitation, and meals)

Questions?
Contact:
Colby Lewis
413.822.3323
colby@fcl3.com