What Is a Motherless Daughters Retreat?

12 Oct 2025 · 1 min

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In this introductory video, Hope Edelman—author of Motherless Daughters and founder of motherlessdaughters.com— explains the purpose and structure of her Motherless Daughters retreats. She notes that women who lost their mothers before age 21 often experience lasting impacts on thoughts, emotions, behaviors, relationships, femininity, and self‑worth. Drawing on her own experience of losing her mother at 17, Edelman describes how the retreats bring together about 20 women who share their stories, support one another, and learn about the long‑term effects of early mother loss. She invites viewers to join a retreat to find community and healing.

Chapters

Hello, I'm Hope Edelman. I'm the author of the book Motherless Daughters. I'm the founder at motherlessdaughters.com, and for the past 10 years I've been leading Motherless Daughters retreats. If you were up to age 21 when your mom died, you probably know how much of your life that event affected— your thoughts, your feelings, your behaviors, your relationships, your femininity, maybe your sense of self-confidence and self-worth. I was 17 when my mother died of breast cancer, and I didn't know any other girls who'd lost a mom. And as I grew older, I didn't know any other women who saw the world quite the same way that I did, with the same challenges and triumphs and fears. At a Motherless Daughters retreat, you'll sit in a room with 20 or so other women who really get it, who are there to share their stories to lift each other up and to learn about the long-term effects of early mother loss. I hope you'll join us.