Motherless Daughters Iowa Retreat

5 Jun 2024 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

1:33

In this announcement video, Hope Edelman shares exciting news about the inaugural Midwestern Motherless Daughters Retreat, scheduled for August 1–4 in Iowa City, Iowa. She explains her deep personal ties to the city—having earned a graduate degree in nonfiction writing there (1989‑1992), teaching annually at the summer writing festival, and owning a historic 100‑year‑old home for 17 years—highlighting Iowa City’s status as a UNESCO City of Literature and its vibrant cultural scene. The retreat will be held at the Graduate Hotel on the town’s central pedestrian mall, where participants will stay, meet, and share meals. The program is designed for women who lost their mothers before age 30, with activities organized by participants’ age at the time of loss to foster connections among those with similar experiences. Edelman invites listeners to join and experience the city’s literary atmosphere.

Chapters

Hi everyone, I'm here with some really exciting news to share. We've been asked to do a Midwestern Motherless Daughters Retreat for about as long as we've been doing retreats, and this year we're going to do our very first one. It's in Iowa City, Iowa. If you know me in real life, you know how much I love Iowa City. I went to graduate school there to study nonfiction writing from 1989 to 1992. And I go back every summer to teach in their summer writing festival. I even bought a house there 17 years ago, a 100-year-old house that I love and stay in. Iowa City is a fantastic place, so cultural. It's a UNESCO City of Literature, which means there's lots of literary activities going on all the time, people talking about books and reading, and there's a pedestrian mall right in the middle of town That has a lot going on in the summer. We're going to be meeting at the Graduate Hotel, which is on that pedestrian mall, from August 1st to 4th. We'll be meeting there, you'll be staying there, and we'll be having some of our meals together there. This retreat is for daughters who lost mothers up to the age of 30, and we'll be dividing you up by age at time of loss for some of the activities. So you can really get to know other women who have histories that are similar to yours. I really hope you'll join us and that you'll love Iowa City as much as I do. Hope to see you there.