Meet my theme for 2023.

When we are able to sit with others and share our stories vulnerably, we can make connections that help us overcome our differences.

"Our Stories Matter' as my theme for 2023 stems from the realization that when I started to share my own story, so much in my life started opening up and transforming for me. While I can pinpoint the inception of Dare to Detour to the day I opened my mouth in front of my 'What's Next? 101' class at The Hivery (Thank you Linda, Laura and Grace!), blurting out, "I want to start a business that creates Detours for women!", what really motivated me to start was to selfishly, create a place where I could reconnect with that young woman inside of me. (The one who Dared my 20-something self to move to NYC.) The empty nest is a HUGE transition. And that was the precipice of where I was at the time, and I can't thank you enough for witnessing this journey of mine all along the way.

So here we are. Approaching a new year, and looking back at where Dare to Detour started in my 'looks good from the outside, but inside I'm emotionally struggling' home in Tiburon, California, to here in Bozeman, Montana and now, all the way to...

WHERE TO TRAVEL IN 2023

So why do our stories matter?

Because stories ground us and provide us with a true sense of place and belonging. They facilitate connection. They teach. They support us in reclaiming parts of ourselves that we may have set aside or forgotten. They help us grieve, and they help us celebrate. And perhaps most importantly, stories give voice to new ideas and beliefs. As women, we are the keepers of culture in this way, and we hold the power to shift the narrative.

Dare to Detour is and will always be a safe place to explore the parts of yourself that you've lost touch with. Because that is the journey I've been on with it. It is a place to have conversations, with yourself and in a safe group, and to be supported in deciding how and what to bring back with you into your real life when you return from a Detour. Sometimes that means reconnecting with a younger version of yourself like it has been for me. Sometimes that simply means having the space to navigate a time in your life that feels sticky. I've truly seen the gamut as to how Dare transpires for the Darlings in so many beautiful ways.

Change and transition happen in life, whether we're ready or not. But I swear something catalyzes for the women on my retreats that supports them in meeting what life throws at them with grace and often humor. It starts quietly...around the campfire, on a hike, or privately being scrawled into a journal...and then it's as if a door opens and POOF! a new woman walks through holding herself slightly stronger, taller, empowered. And I know this to be true: It all begins when they finally start sharing their story.