Participate in an overnight retreat of open-hearted conversation to prepare for the end of life

Friday, Mar. 6, 6:30 p.m.–Saturday, Mar. 7, 4 p.m. U.S. Central Time

We all know that life is not  infinite, but we don’t do a good job talking about it, making plans to ensure that our needs and wishes will be understood and respected, and having those difficult conversations with friends and family about our decisions of end-of-life care. Please join end-of-life doulas and educators from the Death Collective of Eastern Iowa for conversations and workshops about both the practical and personal aspects of end-of-life planning—and communicating about it with family and friends. 

This retreat is designed to support individuals and families in their process of creating the structures and supports for the end-of-life experiences that we would want for ourselves and those we love. We’ll focus on advance care planning tools for medical and end-of-life choices, creating a vigil plan based on your values, awareness of stages of dying, the realities of caregiving, and strategies for dealing with anticipatory grief and the grief process, as well as a workshop on having difficult conversations and time for mindful reflection and setting up action steps to complete this work. 

The cost of this overnight retreat is $125 for commuters which includes all sessions, lunch on Saturday, and a closing wine and charcuterie gathering at the close of the retreat. For participants wishing to stay at the Hermitage on Friday night, the fee is $195 which also includes Saturday breakfast. Register at prairiewoods.org for the retreat. To stay in the Hermitage, you will also need to register by phone 319-395-6700 or email ECOSPIRIT@PRAIRIEWOODS.ORG. If you have dietary restrictions, please communicate them when you register. If you have missed the registration deadline on March 4th, or the retreat is sold out, please call to be added to the wait list.