Join us

Grief isn’t something to get over. It’s something we learn to live with, and sometimes, that learning needs space.

Join us for a 4-day, 3-night all-inclusive restorative retreat for anyone carrying the weight of loss. Whether your grief is recent or decades old, named or not, you’re invited to slow down and tend to your grief with care, in community. 

Spots are limited.

why this matters

Space to breathe.
Space to feel.
Space to be.

Whether you’ve experienced the loss of a loved one, the unraveling of your identity, or a life that no longer fits, this retreat is for you. Embers of Grief  is not therapy, not a support group, and definitely not another thing to "fix" yourself with.

It’s a gentle invitation into stillness, slowness, and soulful connection with yourself, with nature, and with others who understand.

Mornings

• Breakfast basket delivered to your door
• Guided breathwork or journaling prompts
• Grounding rituals to start your day gently

Afternoons

• Land-based learning through nature walks or canoeing
• Embodied gentle movement + rest practices
• Optional integration sessions with Melissa + Cristin

Evenings:

• Fire circles under the stars
• Tea, blankets, soft laughter or shared silence
• Connection without pressure

Melissa Sulley
Founder of josiah+co. 

Grief + Loss Coach | Bereavement Doula | Grief Literacy Advocate

Melissa Sulley (she/her) is a Certified Grief + Loss Coach and Bereavement Doula offering trauma-informed, heart-led grief support in Canada and beyond. As the founder of josiah+co., she creates inclusive, non-clinical spaces for individuals navigating the layered realities of loss—including miscarriage, stillbirth, pregnancy after loss, divorce, religious deconstruction, identity shifts, and other life-altering transitions.

With over a decade of lived experience in grief and extensive training in psychology and bereavement care, Melissa blends emotional intelligence, somatic awareness, and gentle guidance. She is a single co-parent to three living children and seven children in the stars, including her son Josiah who died at 20 weeks gestation—a pivotal moment that ignited her path into grief education and support.

Melissa’s approach is rooted in deep compassion, nervous system literacy, and a firm belief that grief doesn’t need to be fixed, simply witnessed. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and Education, a Grief + Loss Coach certification, and a Pregnancy & Infant Loss Doula certification. She facilitates community events, support groups, and collaborates with organizations to increase awareness and education around the real, lasting impacts of grief. Her spaces are known to be soft landing places where people feel seen, supported, and gently reconnected to their own inner knowing.

Current offerings include grief + loss coaching, pregnancy + infant loss bereavement care, and community engagement gatherings to deepen awareness around how grief shapes our lives.View moreView less

Cristin Talentino
Founder + Steward of Birch + Bloom

Experience Curator | Embodied Facilitator | Community-Centered Leadership

Cristin Talentino (she/her) is the founder and steward of Birch + Bloom, a Northern Ontario-based gathering practice that helps individuals, teams, and communities navigate change through creative, embodied, and relational experiences.

With over two decades of experience in leadership, facilitation, and community building, Cristin is known for designing meaningful spaces that bring people together, especially in moments when the path ahead is uncertain. Her work blends creativity, embodiment, nature, and dialogue to foster meaningful connection, inner clarity, and collective insight.

Cristin’s facilitation is grounded, intuitive, trauma-aware, and deeply human. Drawing from her own lived experience of personal transformation, she brings a rare blend of depth and warmth to everything she facilitates. Her gatherings invite people to slow down, reconnect with themselves and others, and explore what’s possible when creativity and relationship are placed at the centre.

Birch + Bloom gatherings are intentionally different. They are rooted in place, shaped by story, and designed to meet the moment with reverence for complexity and care for the people inside it.

Cristin lives and works on the ancestral lands of the Anishinabek in Northern Ontario and offers retreats, workshops, and facilitated gatherings for those moving through change and uncertainty.

Current offerings include creative leadership retreats, seasonal workshops, and relational facilitation for organizations and communities in transition.View moreView less