March is women’s month! All month we’re featuring women doing incredible work in Minnesota. This week we are thrilled to introduce you to our friend Ashley Bredemus. Ashley lives in a remote and semi-off grid cabin with her husband, Victor (aka Stryde), and Shiloh Shepherd, Arlo. Together, with her dad, Dan (aka Uncle Dan), they own and operate Birchwood Wilderness Camp at the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota. Ashley’s also a registered yoga teacher, level 2 Reiki practitioner, and outdoorswoman with an amateur green thumb and a love for photography.

I’m a survivor of sexual assault. The first time I said that phrase out loud I was in my 30s, over a decade after my assault. March is Women’s Month. All month on the blog we are featuring women doing incredible things around the state of MN. Today, I’m honoring all women. I am sharing a small piece of my personal story because, like women everywhere, we endure a great deal and often carry those burdens in silence.

March is women’s month! All month we’re featuring women doing incredible work in Minnesota. This week we are thrilled to introduce you to our friend Sarah Herrick-Smisek. Sarah is a mother of two littles, co-owner of DLH, and serves on the Board of Directors for the YWCA.

March is Women's month and we are featuring women we admire! This week, we are thrilled to introduce you to Erin Haefele of the Green Scene in Walker, MN.

I had other plans for the blog this week. But, like many of you, I have been processing the invasion of Ukraine. It’s been a long time since my heart cleaved open, a canyon of grief, and the only thing I can offer is a prayer. I had a long cry while writing this, and as always, writing did help me work through some very difficult emotions.

Many of you may remember Sonja, as she’s shared her gifts of music with us at several retreats. She recently reached out about future collaboration and I asked if she’d be willing to share about her current travels in Texas. She wrote the following piece. Her writing moved me to tears and left me feeling inspired and proud to know such an incredible woman. Read more here…

Welcome to the world Lucas Cook Ryan!

A brutally honest retrospective, largely pulled from Amanda’s journal.

Amanda shares some thoughts on the New Year and the importance of reflection. Join us for a New Year workshop January 2nd from 9-11am.

Amanda shares some of her favorite books by category here. You can search by, “if you liked Harry Potter…” or “if you liked Hunger Games/Twilight…” etc! I hope you enjoy!

Announcing a one-day retreat in Duluth on November 6th! Early bird price until October 20th!