Testimonials

My 14 year old daughter participated in the Root to Rise program this past winter. She was, to say the least, reluctant to join in. She didn't really have many details about what was going to take place, she didn't know many of the girls, and she just wasn't sure she was ready for such an adventure.   Admittedly I signed her up without much consult. We talked briefly but that was it. And really, I didn't have many details either except for the fact that these girls were going to honor their stepping over into their position as young women. Fully. And with great marking of the occasion.   My own experience at this age was way different!   The whole experience was incredible. For her as an individual and for the two of us as mother and daughter. When I picked her up I was struck with the magnitude of this event. This stepping over. And I was so grateful for this ritual.   The ceremony at pick-up left me weeping and breathless for its incredible beauty and for the fact that I truly felt I was picking up a different person than I dropped off. I dropped off a girl and picked up young woman.   The connection she and I felt was palpable. We both felt it as we left the grounds and went off on our own. Fortunately we planned to leave the afternoon wide open so nobody was expecting us anywhere. We lingered on the road. We stopped for food. And at one point we were walking holding hands, we both looked at each other and recognized how different we felt.   I feel we will hold this ritual dear in our hearts forever. She especially will look back on this time as one filled with beauty and grace and honor and love because of Root to Rise.   I am so grateful for this experience for my daughter. And for myself. It feels so right.  
-Bernadette

I enrolled my beautiful, strong, passionate daughter in Root-to-Rise because I wanted her to experience an empowering event to mark her change from child to young woman, and because I wanted to keep growing her circle of wise and loving women role models.  As she takes a tentative but inevitable step into young adulthood, her worldview gets bigger and those role models are ever more important.  I observed her feeling changes within herself, and having no intentional ritual to recognize that felt wrong to me.  She and all her friends know they are starting down a path, and they know it’s a big deal, and all around them are messages that it’s a big deal, but our culture gives them few healthy tools or resources to figure it out.  I cherish the opportunity as her mother to help her find her way, but it’s bigger than me and she deserves as many sources of strength as possible to navigate the paradigm shift from child to adult.  I want her to have a circle of women to turn to, and tools she crafts and chooses with intention.  Root-to-Rise has given her exactly that!  Thank you, Lydia and Patricia, other mamas and their girls, for this wonderful opportunity.
-Deborah

The Root to Rise Rites of Passage journey was a great way for my 13 year-old to mark the transition to womanhood.  I commend Lydia and Patricia for designing this innovative and timely program.  They led the girls through a set of deeply meaningful activities, while maintaining a sense of fun and adventure.  They challenged the girls in new ways, and gave them a supportive environment in which to contemplate the rights and responsibilities of being a woman.  A great experience!
- Donna

I have had the pleasure of knowing these ladies for many years now. I have often been awed and inspired by them.  I have also been loved and cared for by them.  My children were lucky enough to have them as instructors.  Is was natural to trust them with my adolescent daughter during this often awkward stage of womanhood.  I blindly gave my daughter over without knowing what was planned other than open communication about becoming a woman. We were not disappointed and I plan to enroll my other daughters when their time comes.  My daughter's experience left her feeling empowered, inspired, and stronger with more self confidence.  What more could a mother ask for.
-Keturah