Woman's Retreat Book: A Guide to Restoring, Rediscovering and Reawakening Your True Self ―In a Moment, An Hour, Or a Weekend – An Inspirational Handbook for Reconnection and Rest

by Jennifer Louden

A Do-It-Yourself Retreat Book from the Author of The Woman's Comfort Book Do you yearn for time to rest, dream, listen, grieve, celebrate, stretch, or just be? Then you -- like most women today -- need to retreat: to make time to get away from it all and reconnect with yourself. With the wit, humor, and style that have made her Comfort Book series so popular, comfort queen and modern-day pioneer of women's well-being Jennifer Louden offers a practical and inspirational handbook -- the first to focus on the needs and stresses of women -- that walks you step-by-step through planning and savoring a self-led retreat. Easy-to-do practices and encouraging insights help you: A wise and useful sourcebook of ideas and inspiration, The Woman's Retreat Book can be turned to again and again, whenever you feel the need to retreat.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Health, Spirituality, Personal Development, Womens, Reference

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Donna Wynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love absolutely everything Jennifer Louden writes, I have re-read this book four times! Each and every time I read it I gain a new understanding. It's as if she is right here with me! What a beautiful experience this book is, over and over again!

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book's greatest benefit is the inspiration and the emphasis on the importance of creating emotional and physical containers for retreats. The exercises contained great kernels of inspiration, but specific instructions were a bit woo-woo, even for me. Still, Louden is crystal clear that this is a "take what you need and leave the rest" book, which I intend to do.

Experienced ritualists and retreatants can skip the first chapter, where Louden spends a lot of time convincing women that it's OK to take time for themselves. If you already believe yourself worth the effort, start right in with the practical parts. Even if none of the ideas interest you at all, Louden's passionate advocacy of the subject will leave you fired up for your next retreat - as I now am for mine!

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book isn't what I expected when I ordered it months ago. But it was interesting. I feel capable of organizing a writer's retreat now. Or a solitude retreat, or a yoga retreat, or a whatever retreat. Might come in handy in the future.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very recently went on a six-night self lead retreat after dealing with a life-changing medical diagnosis and treatment.

Before going, I read another book (You Should Leave Now: Going on Retreat to Find Your Way Back to Yourself) and a lot of blog posts and articles about going on retreat. A very common theme in those resources is getting away from technology, social media, phones, email and work.

This book struck me as quite different from anything else I read. I think it's because this book was published ~20 years ago, which means it makes no mention of cell phones, email, or social media. Instead, this book has piles and piles of journaling prompts and exercises that cover a slew of situations.

Another way this book is different is that it emphasizes taking retreats of any length, including very short (less than an hour long) retreats. The sample retreat plans in the back of the book range in length, with many of them appropriate for only one or two nights away. It makes retreating accessible--you don't need to go abroad for a month to find yourself.

The 2021 retreat advice seems to be "go on retreat to escape technology and its negative effects." This book's advice is "go on retreat to connect to yourself and your inner wisdom." Very different takes, and for my needs, this book was perfect.

[Ashley Michaud · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been really helpful in setting up my group coaching programs and has added much value to me during the planning process.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a variety of retreats depending upon the need of the individual. An excellent resource for anyone needing to restore, rejuvenate, and refresh.

[Kristi Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book full of ideas for a personal retreat- both a daily retreat and for longer. This author has done her homework!

[Mycala · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in preparation for my own retreat, which was supposed to be six days but was cut short to four because of an impending snowstorm. (Nevertheless, the retreat was a success and I am very pleased with how it turned out!)

I plan to read this book again before my next retreat and it is going into my permanent library because it is just that good. It covers questions like how to decide where to go for your retreat, how to determine what you want to accomplish, ways to handle various scenarios while you are retreating, etc. It's all in there -- everything is covered, and if (like me) you are one of those people who likes to plan for contingencies, well then this book will be all you need.

[Adrienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I didn't fully finish this book even though I'm posting it as "read." However, it's not because I don't love the book --- I do! I purchased the ebook version of it, and I've been getting frustrated because I can't peruse it, flip back and forth through to the different sections as I would were it a real book, so I will be ordering the print version of this book so I can better fully enjoy it. It is a great, gentle, compassionate book full of super ideas for taking time for yourself, which is so important for all of us. I have greatly enjoyed this book, the half that I have read, but I think it will be more helpful to have the print version of it. I recommend this book. The author has such a gentle, kind voice; it drew me right in to the book. I feel like I'm talking over tea with a trusted best friend.

[ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent resource for planning a variety of retreats. I ordered it looking for ideas to plan a personal retreat to rest and reconnect with myself. The book helped me clarify my intentions and create a loose outline of events that melded activities in the book with my ideas and other resources. I also facilitate groups and retreats for others and this book has a plethora of ideas. I'd highly recommend this book for anyone looking to design a personal retreat, a group retreat or someone who is just looking for strategies to build more self-care into their day. That is the beauty of this book - it recognizes everyone doesn't have the luxury of taking a week or even a few days for a retreat and provides tools to fit it in during a lunch break or other short blocks of time.

[Corinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really had fun with this, planned the birthday retreat with my sister. It helped us reach a deeper level of intimacy than we would have reached alone. We are both going through difficulties this year and this book helped us add structure to the minutes (literally) that we have time to share with each other. Great for ideas but don't try to do too much when you get away.

[Sophie Nicholls · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's noone quite like Jen Louden.

Her blog is where I go to for self-nurture, inspiration and honesty.

I love this book. It's a fabulous resource for women everywhere and something I regularly dip into. And I'm sure that, over the years, I've somehow integrated and absorbed some of Jen's ideas into my own work with my therapy and coaching clients. Read her!

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been to many retreats in my life, and I have enjoyed almost all of them. I looked at quite a few books looking to repeat those experiences at home. This is the best of the books that I found. I highly recommend this book.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for helping me structure my coveted time alone!

[Lisa]

Life

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This another good book that I've owned for a number of years. I re-read it when I am feeling stressed out.

[Liaken · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful reference book for women's retreats. Lots of good ideas, well-organized. In a word: excellent.

[Bonita Rose]

another amazon find I'm waiting for.. got it used for a song!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

more of resource guide than anything - wonderful ideas

[Jeanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by Jennifer Louden, with wonderful ways to integrate self-care into any mom's schedule. Love it!

[Joanne Rock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perennial favorite!

[Laura Cheek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous, fabulous read. Made me not feel guilty about craving alone time. Great ideas for long-term and mini-retreats. It's my go-to when I need a break!