orange county, california
Widow Grief Retreat
A personalized widow grief retreat for only 6 widows, held at a lovely boutique hotel Orange County, CA. Hope and healing for your grieving heart. There is no other widow retreat like this!
You Are Invited To:
- A 4-day intimate widow grief support & healing experience with 3 other widows.
- Experience a safe place to go deep into your broken heart to start to release some of the pain from the death or your husband and hold on to more of the love.
- Learn how to live after the loss of your husband and rediscover who you are by creating a good, yet different life, while still remembering your husband well.
- Get away from the noise and busyness of life and come to a safe place of widow support to deal with all emotions and widow grief in an environment that encourages refreshment and restoration.
Why We Are Unique and One of the Best
Widow Retreats Available
In grief counseling with widows and being a widow and widower, we have seen the same pattern happening over and over again:
- You hurt more than you ever thought possible, and you’re not sure how to go on from here.
- You wonder what your life will look like and who you will be without your husband.
- You may feel overwhelmed, fearful and stuck.
- You don’t want to stay in this place but you have no idea what to do.
So we designed the best widow retreat we could to deal with two areas – healing from the emotional pain and trauma of widow grief and preparing you for how to create a good life, while honoring and remembering your husband.
Our widow support retreats are intimate – only 4 women! They are intensive and all-inclusive. Everything is covered except travel. You just need to get yourself there.
We personalize this experience for each of the 4 widows to achieve the best results possible. This program is powerful and transformational and sets the foundation for living fully and forward while remembering your husband. It really is the ultimate widow support event.
This is a time and space of safety, acceptance and a widow support community. As sharing the tears, laughter and love that are shared by women who are in the same experience is healing in itself. It is a place for widows to belong. It is a place for hope and for healing.
Won’t you join us for this special event uniquely designed to support widows in a life changing way? Schedule a clarity call or reach out to us today!
When the World Moves On, But You Feel “Stuck.”
This weekend is designed as a sanctuary for your heart.
Most women arrive at our retreat describing themselves with one word: Stuck. You want to move forward, but the path feels overgrown with pain. You want to feel better, but you don’t know where to start.
At The Next Chapter Widow Retreat, we provide a sacred, quiet container where you can finally stop ‘just surviving’ and begin the deep, intentional work of healing.
What People Are Saying
Schedule a widow retreat clarity call with Anne-Marie or email help@griefandtraumahealing.com to learn how we can support your widow journey.
WE RECOMMEND THE RETREAT DATE BE AT LEAST 6 MONTHS SINCE THE LOSS OF YOUR HUSBAND SO YOU WILL GET THE BEST RESULTS.
Our Philosophy: Remembering Him Well
Many widows hesitate to do healing work because they fear that ‘feeling better’ means ‘forgetting their husband.’ We believe the opposite.
Our retreat is designed to help you remember him well, but with less pain, and to honor him as you learn to live again.
The Sanctuary Experience:
Privacy & Peace
A Sacred Space for Your Private Process.
The Pillars of the Weekend:
- Private Processing: All deep work is done 1-on-1 with your expert grief coach, who is also widowed, or in private reflection.
- Sacred Space: We give you the physical and emotional room to give your grief the undivided attention it deserves.
- Rest & Restoration: Time is intentionally built-in for you to breathe, rest, and reset away from the noise of your ‘real world’ life.
- A Sisterhood that ‘Gets It’: You will be surrounded by only five other women—a small circle of widow sisters who understand your language without you having to explain a word.
6 Women. 2 Expert Coaches. 1 Journey
To ensure you are never alone in your process, we maintain a strict 3:1 ratio. Each of our expert grief coaches works with only three women. This ensures that when a question arises or a wave of emotion hits, your guide is right there to anchor you. And all deep processing work is done one on one with your coach.
The Boutique Details:
- The Setting: We gather at a charming boutique hotel, providing a quiet, intimate backdrop for our work. While guests arrange their own lodging, we have secured a discounted block of rooms to keep our circle close.
- Nourishment: We provide a boutique continental breakfast and a full catered lunch daily, so your only focus remains on your own restoration.
- The Aftercare: The retreat doesn’t end when you leave. Each attendee receives a private follow-up session with her coach 1–2 weeks later to help bridge the transition home.
IS THIS YOUR TIME?
- Do you feel 'stuck' in your grief, unsure of how to find the path forward?
- Are you longing for a place where you can finally focus on your own healing?
- Do you want to honor your husband by learning to live—and remember—better?
- Are you ready to be part of an intimate, expert-led circle that values your privacy?
Expert Care From Coaches Who Walk The Path
You will never have to explain your grief to us. We’ve lived it. We are fellow widows. We combine professional clinical expertise with the deep, lived understanding of what it means to lose a spouse. We aren’t just your guides; we are your fellow travelers in this journey.
Led by grief and trauma specialists Anne-Marie Lockmyer & Ron Gray, LMFT, this unique 4 day, in-person widow retreat will take place in beautiful Southern California and provide the opportunity for immense healing and processing of grief.
Anne-Marie Lockmyer
Anne-Marie Lockmyer is a grief specialist, certified in critical incident stress debriefing, a certified trauma-integrative practitioner, 8-time award-winning author on grief, and founder of The Grief & Trauma Healing Network. As a widow herself, Anne-Marie knows the pain and devastation that grief and loss cause and is living proof that you can go from surviving to thriving.
Anne-Marie offers life-changing grief support for widows with widow retreats and also works with individuals and families worldwide. She leads grief support groups, offers crisis grief support for businesses, grief training for therapists and counselors, and speaks on grief wherever she can. She is passionate about advocating for and loving grievers, especially supporting widows and being an educational catalyst to society on grief and loss.
Ron Gray
Ron Gray is a licensed marriage and family therapist specializing in grief and trauma, and founder of OC Christian Counseling and Christian Grief and Trauma. Ron’s developed a passion for helping people heal from loss and related trauma following the loss of his wife to a prolonged fight with cancer.
Ron facilitates grief recovery groups, offers life-changing retreats for widows, individuals and families, and trains therapists on grief and loss. Ron is a public speaker focused on grief and loss topics, and helps clients heal from lingering trauma symptoms associated with their deeply personal losses. Ron is also the owner and co-founder of The Haven Spiritual Retreat Center in Orange, California.
Your Investment
This retreat is a one-of-a-kind offering due to its high-touch approach and personal care. We maintain a strict 3:1 coaching ratio and conduct all processing one-on-one privately with your coach. With a total of only 6 available seats, this ensures an exclusive, highly personalized experience.
Retreat Tuition: $2985
- Credit card, debit, or Zelle accepted
What You Receive:
- 3 ½ Days of Expert-Led Training: In-depth curriculum and group sessions utilizing the Circle Model of coaching, limited to only 3 participants.
- Personalized Support: Private 1-on-1 grief processing and a follow-up session with your coach 1–2 weeks after the retreat.
- Included Meals: Continental breakfast, catered lunches for the first three days, and a farewell buffet breakfast on the final day.
Included:
- All materials and workbook
- 4 breakfasts
- 3 group lunches
- 3 private, 1-on-1 processing sessions with your grief coach
- 7 small support circle meetings (with your coach and 2 other women)
- 9 full group gatherings (with all 6 ladies and both coaches)
- Proven grief processing exercises
- Rediscovering Me Life Planning Session
NOT INCLUDED: Lodging, dinners, or travel insurance.
Take the Next Step
These 6 seats fill incredibly quickly (our last retreats sold out in just two days!). We would love to talk with you to explore if this sanctuary is precisely what your heart needs right now.
The Next Chapter Retreat: An Intimate Circle Model
We gather at The Ayers Hotel, Costa Mesa/Newport Beach], a charming boutique hotel close to the Orange County, California airport (SNA). Lodging is booked separately. However, we have secured a block of rooms exclusively for our circle. Once your spot is confirmed, we will provide you with the private link to book your stay at our reduced rate.
This is not a large seminar. To ensure you receive the deepest, most personal healing, we intentionally limit our circle to only 6 women per retreat. This intimate group is supported by two expert coaches— who have walked the path of widowhood and truly understand your loss.
There is no other widow healing program designed like this.
Upcoming Dates:
- Aug. 27-Aug 30th 2026 (full)
The Ayres Hotel Costa Mesa/Newport Beach
325 Bristol St, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(The closest airport is Orange County – SNA, and the hotel offers a complimentary shuttle.)
- Total Privacy: All deep emotional processing, or “Heart Work,” is conducted 1-on-1 with your coach or in private reflection. You will never be asked to share your deepest feelings with a room full of strangers.
- A Full Circle of Wisdom: You will benefit from the collective wisdom of both coaches while receiving dedicated one-on-one time with your personal coach.
- Remembering Well: Our focus is not on forgetting him, but on learning to remember him with less pain and more love.
**Sign Up Below Or Click Here To Be Notified When We Schedule More Widow Retreat Dates.
We will notify you BEFORE we make the dates public so you get first chance to register.**
Secure Your Seat in the Circle
6 Seats. 3 ½ Days. A Lifetime of Change.
Because we limit our retreats to 6 women to maintain our 3:1 coaching ratio and ensure total privacy, spaces fill very quickly.
Have questions about travel or logistics? We’ll cover everything in our short discovery call.
CONTACT US
Finding Joy After The
Loss of a Spouse