Motherless Mother's Day
Over three days, we’re creating space for people who are grieving to commemorate their mamas and care for themselves.
When our moms die, many of us are told that we've "joined a club." - The Dead Moms Club
Of course, it’s a club that we all join one day - some of us just join early.
Being in that club and navigating grief alone is already isolating enough - so join us for a virtual Motherless Mother’s Day!
Alica Forneret and Reimagine are partnering to host Motherless Mother’s Day May 8-10, 2020. Over three days, we’re creating space for people who are grieving to commemorate their mamas and care for themselves - through movement, education, connection, and even simple distraction.
The weekend is designed so that you can pop in and out of individual events, curating your Motherless Mother’s Day weekend to be whatever you need!
Keep checking the schedule - events will be added on an ongoing basis!
All events are by donation. We encourage attendees to support the facilitators who are lending their time and incredible resources. ALL funds generated will be donated to the facilitator or their charity of choice (no cut from Reimagine or Alica Forneret).
Type of events
In partnership with some incredible organizations, leaders, and facilitators, we’ve organized three days of events that invite you to move, relax, learn, connect, and event distract yourself (if that’s what you need).
MOVEMENT
Yoga (English, Spanish, French), meditation, tai chi, breathwork, dance, and more.
PANELS
Conversations with motherless mothers, motherless daughters, motherless sons, and grief and mental health experts.
AUTHOR TALKS
Join a virtual book club with best-selling authors who have written about mother loss and grief.
COOKING CLASSES
Learn to cook something new or cook with and for a motherless person in your life.
LIVE PODCAST RECORDINGS
Listen in on intimate conversations between podcast hosts and experts.
WORKSHOPS
Work through something with leading facilitators - from art to voguing to storytelling.
RITUALS
Practice or develop a ritual to honor your mama and your grief.
Who the events are for
These virtual events are open to all ages, races, orientations, and genders. Many of our movement teachers will provide modifications for their classes. And if you feel like you need a little extra support with technology, we have resources available regarding tips, tricks, and best practices.
Please note that some events will be mother loss-, grief- and death-specific, though others are open to anyone who is interested in learning more about mother loss, grief, and death.
We encourage people who aren’t in the club to share with a friend who lost their mom. Or a sibling who you’re grieving with. Or a parent who is caring for a grieving kid. Or any of your colleagues, friends, fam, and community who could use a pick-me-up this (motherless) Mother’s Day.
A few things to note
THESE EVENTS ARE PROUD TO BE:
LGBTQ+ friendly
Body positive
Trauma-informed (* signifies events led by certified trauma-informed instructors)
Non-denominational
Multi-lingual (** signifies events offered in Spanish or French)
International (organized across many time zones)
THESE EVENTS ARE NOT:
Replacement for professional mental health services
Grief therapy
Featured partners
Meet our hosts
Alica Forneret
Alica Forneret is a writer and facilitator creating spaces for people to explore their grief. She is fiercely committed to making sure that we have more conversations about grief, death, and dying - whether that’s at home, at work, or with strangers on the bus. Alica is a member of the BC Women's Health Foundation’s Young Women's Council, an Associate board member of Our House Grief Center, and hosts Dead Moms Club events in Canada and the US.
View her Reimagine profile here.
Alica’s written work has been featured on the pages of popular magazines and books, including Modern Loss, Grief Dialogues, Lantern, Vancouver Magazine, Loam, and Kinfolk. And her story and voice have been featured on CTV News, Grief Out Loud, InStyle, and more. You can find her writing her newsletter, The Mourning Herald, in coffee shops in Vancouver, running workshops with Reimagine in NYC, and hosting Death Over Dinner events across the United States and Canada.
Reimagine
Reimagine is a nonprofit creating virtual events and live festivals that transform our approach to life and death. Drawing on the arts, spirituality, healthcare, and design, the organization sparks experiences that break down taboos and bring diverse communities together in wonder, preparation, and remembrance. More than 20,000 people have attended Reimagine End of Life festivals in San Francisco and New York City since 2018. The festival was founded by Brad Wolfe, a grandson of two Auschwitz survivors, who initially began exploring death through art during college when his close friend, Sara, was diagnosed with a rare form of pediatric cancer. As a songwriter, he naturally turned to music to help soothe her as she faced her own end of life. Reimagine was inspired by OpenIdeo’s End of Life Challenge and was led by Wolfe as part of an OpenIDEO project exploring the relationship between art and the end of life. For more information visit: letsreimagine.org.
