‘Come aside by yourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile’
Mark 6 v31

My name is Ruth and my vision for this grief retreat was born from a place of deep pain, following the sudden death of my 20-year old son, Calvin, in 2020. After he died, it was the healing power of God, shown through countless acts of kindness showered on me and my family, that helped me begin to move towards a place of healing. One of those kindnesses was the gift of a beautiful space; somewhere I could escape to when my grief asked for attention I wasn’t able to give it with all the demands of daily life. In this safe sanctuary I finally gave myself time to breathe, to cry, to sleep, to read, to think, to write, to remember, to mourn. It was a nurturing place where hope for the future slowly revealed itself as a possibility. 

Calvin’s Cabin is a legacy to a very special young man who quietly reached out a helping hand to other people and who touched many hearts during his short life. It is my hope that this grief retreat, which bears his name, will be a gift to anyone in pain who needs time and space to grieve properly and to tend their hurting heart. Calvin would have loved to see people blessed this way

About me

In addition to my own life-changing experience of grief, I have trained as a Grief Educator (with grief expert David Kessler) and taken courses in Traumatic Loss and Grief and Mental Health First Aid. I am a trained ‘Experienced Friend’ through the Canmore Trust, a suicide prevention and postvention charity based in Scotland.

I am not a counsellor or therapist, but can offer guests the gift of vulnerability and a listening ear.