Slow your Life. Let it Breathe.
discover the things that fill you up. explore the coast of maine. eat delicious food. walk in the woods. sit on the beach. witness breathtaking sunsets. connect. dream. breathe.
“everyone should have a gentle yet sure respect for their own story” -John 0'Donohue
About Laurie
Laurie knew she loved to write when she penned newsy letters to her friends during summer vacations as a child. From there, she moved on to reading, travel, and more writing as a way to feed her soul. The child and grandchild of teachers, she received a degree in English and Religion at Amherst College, and a PhD in History from Yale University.
As a university professor and writer, Laurie is the author of seven books and many articles in both academic and general-interest publications. She writes about religious belief and practice in the United States, issues of race, politics, and faith, and, as she says, anything else that your parents tell you never to discuss in polite company. She is a firm believer that this is where the most important conversations take place. She knows how to give people space and has the confidence to ask the hard questions and deepen their understanding of themselves and others.
She also loves to help others become writers, and to use their skills to explore the world around them. “Writing our stories helps us discover our passions and our dreams. We too often think this happens only in our minds, but making connections among our heads, hearts, and bodies transforms us.”
Laurie has lived in many places, including northern California, New England, North Carolina, Missouri, and Charlottesville. For the last 18 years Deer Isle has been her summer home and her place to restore and revive. She is eager to introduce others to the treasures of this beautiful, remote space.
About Teri
I began my 40-year career waiting tables. After an eating and drinking trip up highway 1 on the west coast, I moved to San Francisco to go to culinary school. It was 1985 and I had never lived outside of mid Missouri.
Surrounded by people who loved to cook, loved the restaurant business and the most amazing food the country had to offer, I lived and breathed cooking, lived and breathed food.
I worked in professional kitchens for 36 years. I cooked in Seattle, St. Thomas and Denver. Dad and I became business partners in 1989 when we opened our first restaurant together. Years later, we opened Potager. It became one of Denver’s top restaurants. We owned Potager for 23 years.
Each Saturday and Wednesday for all of those 23 years, I would drive to the Boulder Farmers’ Market and around to local farms to collect all the food for our restaurant. Buying food for a restaurant this way is expensive and time consuming but the money we spent stayed within our own community. I knew who I supported with my purchasing choices.
Food is critically important in the care of our bodies, our families and our communities. The relationships we make with the people that grow food, understanding the work that it takes to get it to me, seeing farms, fills my spirit with gratitude and inspiration. The way in which we cook, eat and sit together around a table, in thoughtful and intentional ways will permeate every aspect of our lives. Approaching the entire experience from a place of gratitude is my organizing principle.
Health concerns and failed marriage brought me to a yoga class. I was searching for something that could help me live in my life differently, more balanced, more fully present and with less pain. Yoga opened a path for me to better health. I became a certified yoga teacher and continue that education today.
My life now is completely different than it was 6 years ago. I live on Deer Isle with my husband. I am a chef, an artist, a wife, a gardener, a florist, a baker, and a yogi.
My dream with this retreat experience is to inspire people to explore and find things that bring them joy, fill them up and cultivate a confidence to become the biggest and best version of themselves and to uncover and step towards their own dreams.
To make art, something expresses through me. To love art, something must speak to another. To live artfully, we must live open to creativity and expression.
Our Story
The story begins with two women hanging out on the porch. Each had a dream of opening their space and creating a retreat to inspire and share their passions, but they had never talked about it with each other. Over a glass of wine and a sunset, they hatched an idea.
We became friends when Teri moved to Deer Isle just before the pandemic. My partner and I had been fixing up the 1880 farmhouse on Spofford Hill for over a decade, bringing back its charm and warmth. Teri and her husband, nearby on Greens Hill, restored their big farmhouse, planted gardens and turned them into a bountiful respite.
As neighbors, we soon realized that we shared certain loves: of Deer Isle, of nature, of good art and delicious food, and of helping other women to realize their dreams. Mostly, we love to laugh and imagine how to share our passions with others. We both had a dream and Finding Fullness was born—the summer camp/yoga/creative retreat that would provide the gifts of time, space, and beauty to people seeking growth, companionship, or just a break from their busy lives.
We are excited to give you a place to find your own fullness!
