Want to Go to Camp Widow?

When most people hear about camps, they think of summer camps on a lake rowing a canoe or maybe even a health camp with early morning muscle workouts and lean protein meals. These stays in parklike settings promote ghost stories and team building. But when I first learned about Camp Widow, I didn’t envision kumbaya singalongs and roasted marshmallows. Instead I thought about what it was like to be a widower. With that, I couldn’t wrap my head around the grief I felt and being in a community of others also experiencing loss that may have left them disoriented.

I recently read a Next Avenue article by Amy Florian about a weekend camp for widows and widowers to share wisdom and support. It got me thinking about what that would’ve been like. Like her, I, too, would have expected it to be a somber few days, reliving the sorrow of a beloved spouse.

Her expectations fell away, she wrote. “The moment I approached the Camp Widow registration table, I was treated like a special guest. People looked me in the eye — something I realized I missed from so many others when they found out John died. They spoke kindly and reassuringly, and gave me permission to do, wear and be whatever I needed in order to be comfortable.”

Grief and Loss Touches Us All

The campers came from all walks of life and were all ages. Their partner’s death may have immediate and unexpected or it may have been protracted. All of this was proof that death came come at any time; it’s not reserved for just the aged.

They were able to cry when they needed to because they were in company of others who knew something about what they were going through. People were not expected ‘to get over’ the grief they felt. Instead, they were encouraged to share their stories if they wanted to. They even gave each other advice in between the facilitated moments of support that held them all together.

All of this was part of what the founder – a widow herself - had in mind when she created the nonprofit organization Soaring Spirits International that offers these camps three times a year in various location.

To learn more, read Florian’s complete article.

J. Dietrich Stroeh is author of Three Months: A Caregiver’s Journey from Heartbreak to Healing (2011 FolkHeart Press) and three free ebooks. For more information, visit www.threemonthsbook.com.