I'm thinking about Iceland, which it's actually warmer than Baltimore today. I'm just crazy about this gorgeous, remote island floating in the middle of the North Atlantic, spitting distance from the Arctic Circle. I want a house there.
My first visit to the quiet, cold country was in the early 1990s, on my way to England to visit a friend who is no longer a friend, but Iceland had nothing to do with it. Then again in December 2001, with my boyfriend who is still my friend. Twice in 2023, once to visit with my new friend Heiða Björk Sturludóttir whom I met through Ayurveda, and who is our Write & Roam tour guide and a truly wonderful friend. Later that year, I returned to host back-to-back W&R retreats and again for W&R in 2024. My sister attended the last one and she’s still my friend! I’m sensing a theme here.
On a side note, or maybe this is actually the note, in Iceland in March 2023, I had Dani Shapiro’s new book, Signal Fires, with me. A hardback. I never take a hardback when I travel, but I had started it a few weeks before and knew I could be away from it, even for 5 days. Waking up at 6 am or so, I had hours to read before the sun peaked over the icy horizon around 8:45. There I was, on the sofa in my tiny, cozy cabin, in my flannels, sipping tea with fresh cream, and nibbling on a kanilsnúðar before venturing out for the day with Heida. The Miniborgir cabins looked out over snowy fields, black ravens in stark contrast, lazily circling around the back, looking for restaurant scraps, guttural croaks and caws the only sounds in the morning in the tiny town of Grimsnes. The most perfect setting for reading and some writing.
The two are tied together - that trip and this book. I want to quote the book to you, the lines that stopped me, when I had to put the book down and close my eyes. I want to tell you that Waldo will be ok but I don’t know that yet. That night in 1985 when everything changed shouldn’t be kept secret - it’s the secrets that ruin you. I want to tell you that I have no idea how Dani does it. A master memoirist who can also write a novel that will sear you.
So I’m thinking of these things as I write this newsletter. A few weeks ago I went to Kripalu for a writing weekend with Dani. I polished my fingernails black, just like she does, as if that would make me feel closer to her in a room with 160 other people. I cried when I asked her a question about Waldo. How she did it. She gave me the best answer I could have imagined. Technique. Serendipity. Patience. My palms are sweaty as I write this. My heart beating a little faster. She. Is. So. Good.
You, in a Write & Roam Retreat, can come up with words, sentences, and paragraphs that are just as good. That come from your gut. Your heart. They sear. Words, thoughts, and images that makes your palms sweat and your heart beat a little faster. And we will listen to your amazing words that you didn’t have too long to think about, that you just let pour onto the page, without the ego or critic poking around. You did it. We hear it. We tell you how amazing your story is because it truly is.
Our September 2025 journey will be our fourth Write & Roam trip to Iceland. We write for a few hours each morning and then make our way out into the vast, spectacular wilderness. https://susanweisbohlen.com/retreats/iceland-2024
Check out my website for the itinerary. 7 nights, 8 days, September 21-29, 2025. To my Jewish friends, yes, we arrive on the eve of Rosh Hashana. Such an incredible way to begin the New Year. https://susanweisbohlen.com/retreats/iceland-2024
Or try a retreat closer to home.
Come for a half-day experience on Sunday, March 16th, 10 am - 2 pm, at the rustic, beautiful Manor Mill in Monkton. Meditation, writing to prompts, sharing, and talking about our work is enhanced by walking in nature walk and various experiential exercises. Sign up here: https://covayaxa.elementor.cloud/events/writers-retreat-with-susan-weis-bohlen/
And we will be in Martinsburg, West Virginia, at Casa Om, April 7-10. Meditation, movement, hiking and writing make up this Embodied Writing Retreat. The food is prepared fresh for us daily, the house is on the Potomac River, and there is a hot tub, a fire pit, and endless beauty to stoke your imagination and creativity. https://susanweisbohlen.com/retreats/casa-om-2025
I hope you can join me. We create magic together that will stay with you long after our travels.
xo,
Susan
My trips and workshops tend to fill up, so if you are so moved, join me by signing up soon. You can venmo a deposit to hold your place, $850 for Iceland, $500 for Casa Om, @susan-weis-bohlen, last four of cell are 2096. I am happy to talk to you any time to tell you more. No writing or meditation experience is necessary for any of my retreats or workshops. See my books here.
*Sigh* I just love reading your words and dreaming of your writing retreats and Iceland. Signal Fires is now on my list! 🙏