Letting Go is a recently turned 30-year-old. She is a fourth grade elementary school teacher in New York City. She recalls being somewhat apprehensive about signing up for the workshop. "I was incredibly nervous. A colleague handed me the brochure. He had done the program three years before. I thought, ‘wow, that sounds really cool!’ But I didn’t know if I could get to that level of introspection. My colleague had been doing retreats and workshops for years. How could I just jump in? I took a chance. I took a leap of faith that I was ready."

Kabril is a ‘fifty-something’ year old grandmother and director of organization development with a passion for creating learning environments. She doesn’t really know why the Temagami brochure caught her eye among the many she typically tosses. "Maybe it was the different approach – the different paper. But it rang a chord for me. Maybe I was just ready for something more emotional and physical rather than intellectual."

Balance is a chronic overachiever in her mid-thirties. "Instead of pursuing my life’s passion (writing) I was hovering on the verge of burnout atop a long list of accomplishments – none of them publishable. I went to Temagami seeking balance in my life. I left Temagami a writer."

Heartful is a ‘fifty-something’ consultant who works with organizations of all sizes to change how people work together in groups. He is also a stepfather and stepgrandfather. Heartful signed up for the workshop on an intuition. "The program appealed to me because it was to take place in the outdoors, it involved personal and professional development and I was looking for an opportunity for reflection. I was also very attracted to the wilderness and to being on an island."

Seven Senses is in her early 50s. "I’m the mother of two incredible daughters. I work in the travel office at an Ivy League university. I deal with high-profile clients and handle huge amounts of technical detail/data daily. It’s a fast-paced career with high expectation of service. I am somebody who deals well in a professional world but always wondered if there was a softer side to life – a gentler, softer world where I could be a gentler, softer person."

Laughing Women is a forty-seven year old mother of five and a midwife who is perpetually over-extended. She was anxious about signing up for the workshop. "I was trying to be spiritually open, but I was filled with trepidation. I kept telling myself not to expect anything and to try to be open and present. My work is very intense and I am very involved with many people, but they only see me through the work I do, and that can be limiting. I don’t have the opportunity to develop many new friendships. I was looking forward to spending time with a group of people who would not associate me with my work, but I felt anxious as I tried to imagine the freefall of that anonymity."

Each was to encounter a unique experience that would forever change their approach to life.