GATEWAY WOMEN REIGNITE WEEKEND - PERTH, 5 & 6 OCTOBER 2024

THERE IS LIFE AFTER CHILDLESSNESS, DESPITE WHAT THE MEDIA, YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR INNER CRITIC WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE! A MEANINGFUL AND FULFILLING LIFE THAT MAKES SENSE TO YOU BECAUSE IT CAME FROM THE ESSENCE OF WHO YOU ARE.

THE REIGNITE WEEKEND WORKSHOP IS FOR YOU IF YOU'RE:

• A woman who wanted to have children but it didn’t work out for any reason: infertility; didn’t meet a willing or suitable partner; your partner didn’t want (more) children; a chronic illness; a badly timed breakup, etc, etc. There are so many ways this can happen
• Struggling with relationships with friends and family as ‘the odd one out’ and really missing having a supportive group of women friends to journey through life with
• Wondering where your mojo went and where the heck to start looking for it!
• Lonely and confused about your place in society when all you can see around you are mothers, grandmothers and families
• Knowing that you need to make some changes to your life but feeling too tired, sad & uninspired to know what to try next
• Worried about growing old without children and grandchildren
• Furious that you ‘Did all the right things’ and have still ‘ended up’ in this difficult position
• Ready for a Plan B (C, D or Z!) but are either convinced that you’ll screw it up, or scared that you’ll never find a meaningful alternative to a life centred on motherhood.

S ECURE YOUR PLACE NOW WITH A BOOKING DEPOSIT OF $100 (We'll invoice you later for the balance of your fee)

• EARLY BIRD $645 (if booked before 28 July 2024)

• TRAVELLER’S EARLY BIRD $595 (if booked before 28 July 2024. You're eligible if you reside more than 200km from Perth CBD)

• STANDARD FEE: $ 745 (if booked between 29 July & 23 August 2024)

• RSVP: Bookings close 23 August 2024

WORKSHOP DATES: SATURDAY 5 & SUNDAY 6 OCTOBER, 2024

LOCATION: PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

This in-person Reignite Weekend, licensed from the work of Jody Day, founder of Gateway Women, will be led by Sarah Roberts & Judy Graham. Sarah & Judy are both Gateway Women facilitators and experienced grief counsellors who work specifically with women who are childless not by choice (CNBC), and they draw on their own lived experiences as CNBC women.

OVER THE COURSE OF THE REIGNITE WEEKEND, YOU WILL:

• Meet your new community – the wonderful, powerful, wise and funny Nomos (not-mothers)
• Unpick the assumptions that the culture has about motherhood (and non-motherhood) and let go of what doesn’t ‘fit’ you;
• Look at where you are holding onto unhelpful ideas and shame about the life choices you’ve made (and the non-choices too) which have led you to ‘ending up’ without the family you hoped for;
• Explore and understand unresolved grief about your childlessness – grief which our culture neither acknowledges, understands nor allows (and consequently, neither do we, sometimes);
• Re-examine the dreams and goals you had for your life before you became convinced that having a baby was the only thing that mattered;
• Reignite your passion for your life and start thinking what your ‘Plan B’ might be for a meaningful and fulfilling life without children;

There are more of us than you may realise and we’re actually a bunch of pretty interesting, real and courageous women. At Reignite, you'll find a safe place for connection and belonging.

The Reignite Weekend is designed for: women of any age or sexuality, partnered or single, who wanted to have children and for some reason, it didn’t work out. If you’re keen to move forward and create a meaningful and fulfilling life without children, it’s for you. Childless stepmothers and those who have experienced adoption breakdown are very welcome.

The Reignite Weekend won’t be a good fit for you if: you are childfree by choice, trying to conceive, still actively trying to pursue parenthood, or hopeful of creating a biological or adoptive family in the future.

If you’re not sure if it’s right for you, we’ll be happy to discuss that with you before you book – for enquiries, please contact Judy at judy@womenhood.com.au

MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE WORKSHOP:

Dates: Saturday 5 & Sunday 6 October, 2024

Times: 9.00am – 5pm (both days)

Lunch & Breaks: Lunch will be at roughly 1-2pm both days and is not provided but there are plenty of lunch options nearby. We’ll also take morning and afternoon breaks of 15 minutes where tea/coffee/light snack will be provided.

Location: Inglewood, Perth. Our venue is accessible and full details will be provided once your booking is confirmed.

Getting there: Our venue is close to the city centre. Public transport stops are close by. Click here for a map of the area.

Accommodation: There are a range of accommodation options. Once we’ve confirmed your place in the workshop, we suggest you book early and check your booking is refundable in the event of Covid or course cancellation.

BOOK YOUR PLACE IN THE REIGNITE WEEKEND WORKSHOP:

BOOK NOW - $100 : A booking deposit of $100 is required to book your place in the workshop. After your booking and registration is received, we will be in touch with you to complete our on-boarding process, confirm your place and we will then invoice you for the remaining fee. We suggest you don’t book accommodation or airfares until you receive confirmation of your place on the course.

Payment Plans: We can offer payment plans for the balance amount, at no extra cost to you, if that makes it possible for you to attend. Full payment will be required before the workshop, but we can break it into smaller regular payments for you. Please indicate in your registration form if you wish to discuss a payment plan.

Public Health Issues due to Coronavirus: We follow the current health recommendations. Should the workshop need to be cancelled for public health reasons, we will refund 100% of the course fee. You will be responsible for travel or accommodation costs, so please make sure any bookings you make are fully refundable.

PAYMENT / REFUND POLICY:

● Your $100 booking deposit is non-refundable. It covers your application and a personal 30 minute zoom call with one of the facilitators to connect and set you up for onboarding into the workshop.

● Once your place in the workshop is confirmed, we’ll send you an invoice for the balance of payment which is then due within 7 days (or by a payment plan, as mutually agreed). Your fee is non-refundable (submissions for a refund due to special circumstances can be made to the facilitators, and will be at their discretion).

WORKSHOP DELIVERY / CANCELLATION POLICY:

● If the workshop is cancelled by the organiser due to Covid, or unforeseen circumstances, 100% of the fee will be refunded to participants.

● This workshop facilitates connection and interaction with other women who are childless not by choice. We require a minimum of 10 participants to go ahead. (rsvp date for workshop viability is 14 September 2024).

If you have any questions prior to booking please contact Judy at judy@womenhood.com.au Please write 'Reignite' in the email subject line.

We’re looking forward to meeting you!

Sarah & Judy xx

SOME FEEDBACK FROM WOMEN WHO'VE TAKEN PART IN PREVIOUS REIGNITE WEEKENDS:

I recommend the Gateway Reignite weekend for anyone trying to navigate what it means to be a woman who is not a mother in this pronatalist world. No matter where you’re at on your journey, you’ll find connection, companionship and space to work through some really complex ideas. Sarah and Judy are wonderful facilitators who bring expertise and life experience to create a safe space. Before the weekend I felt a sense of exclusion and a lack of belonging. The workshop showed me that I am not alone, and the connection with the other participants has helped me to continue to see it each day. Since the workshop I’ve found it easier to connect with others, to take up space and have a seat at tables dominated by mothers, have heartfelt conversations with people close to me and keep nurturing the spark of fun, curiosity and connection that the Gateway Reignite weekend helped light in my unexpected life. (Rachel, 48, Australia)

The Reignite weekend is just wonderful. Facing childlessness can be such a painful and lonely experience and the weekend is designed and facilitated in such a perfect way to bring comfort, healing and hope. The activities are gentle at times, fun at others, some individual, some partnered and some as a group. All of them are helpful. Being together in a safe environment with other women who are experiencing the same thing is so powerful and healing. I left feeling seen, heard, understood and having experienced some shifts in my own grief and hopes for my future – and a feeling that the whole group felt the same. Thank you so much to Jody Day for designing such a life-changing workshop and for Judy and Sarah for delivering it so wonderfully in Sydney. I highly recommend anyone who is struggling with childlessness to gift themselves a Reignite Weekend. (Jane, 42, Australia)

It's not an exaggeration to say this workshop has been life- changing. That doesn't mean my life has been miraculously 'fixed', but there has been a deep and fundamental change in my perspective and self-esteem. The biggest thing that this weekend gave me, that years of therapy could not, is a sense of belonging. I was so worried that I wouldn't fit in, that my story would be too different, but getting to know the other participants was a real eye-opener for me. EVERY story was different but there was so much we had in common - not just the end of the story (childless!). I now feel like I have a group of amazing women that I am proud to call friends. We were there for each other all weekend and continue to be, both online and in person - a rare and precious gift! (Helena, 57, Australia)

The Reignite team (Sarah, Judy and Jody for afar) embody so much of what it means to be women navigating a childless life in today’s world. They bring an incredible depth and maturity that all childless women have to find, and model the tenderness and vulnerability childless women all have in common too. For me, this is what made the Reignite workshop so special and powerful and worth doing. Their combined dedication to all of us who attended, put a mirror up to my life, and gives me hope and courage that perhaps I can transform into that kind of rare strength of character and integrity too. (Brigitte, 46, Australia)