How to Mend a Broken Heart

We'll clear out what needs clearing out in order to so that we might be sufficiently prepared to welcome what's longing to come to us next.

The experience of heartbreak--whatever its source--represents a kind of initiation, and a marked departure from a map that may once have felt clearly-marked into a forest that can be wild and unruly and breathtaking.

How we choose to enter the forest, and be in it, says a lot about the kind of shape we'll find ourselves in when we make our way out of it. 

Whether your broken heart comes via the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, a terminal illness, or some other profound loss, at this intimate Saturday afternoon workshop we'll meet each other right where we are. We'll lie down in the forest together and--with the help of writing experiments, contemplation, poetry and bearing witness--explore ideas of grief and anger, despair and forgiveness, freedom and gratitude. And at the end of our time together (to borrow from T.S. Eliot), we'll "arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."  

The workshop will be led by Jenny Douglas, the founder and curator of The Brooklyn Cottage, an incubator and lab for unleashing our most wildly creative and unafraid selves--in the presence of each other. Divorced five years ago, Jenny lives in Prospect Heights with her two teen daughters and their dog and cat. She is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.  

Our gathering will be limited to eight. Bring only a journal and a pen, your curiosity and a willingness to be present for one another. 

"But in myth, in ritual, and in theology, the broken heart is not a regrettable symptom of derailment, but is rather the starting point of anything that matters." -- Kimberley Patton, professor, Harvard Divinity School 

Testimonials: 

"My Academi of Life workshop with Jenny Douglas uplifted my soul and validated the angst I've through. It helped me to embrace the whole-hearted, authentic journey I am now on."
--Nancy Murray 

"One of the exercises that Jenny Douglas had us engage in at The Academi of Life I continue to use to this day. It helps me unlock the 'smarter' thoughts that I know are in me, but sometimes get locked away by other emotions."
--Jessica Fitzpatrick-Rokus 

"I am so grateful to Jenny Douglas for putting this workshop together, and to The Academi of Life for making space for it."
--Trisha C. 

“My experience with Jenny’s workshop taught me that I’m not alone.”
--Inga G.