Paisley Project

Widows creating new lives, one moment at a time.

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Widows creating new lives, one moment at a time. ⚘

Our mission is to provide essential tools and resources to support women to survive, heal, grow, and thrive after the loss of their husbands, while also mobilizing the widow’s own support network.

What is Paisley Project?

Becoming a widow changes who you are. You won’t be the person you were before. But we can help you figure out who you will become, and new life can be filled with wonder, joy and meaning. The Paisley Project provides concrete resources, practical information, and honest insights into the wacky, irreverent, sometimes gritty but occasionally humorous life of a widow.

Paisley Project is about helping women in life-altering transition after the loss of their husbands. We help them find support and resources to reimagine and reinvent their lives. This can be an exciting, motivating process. 

All women, including widows, have unique and special gifts that the world needs.  We believe that they should be supported in sharing those gifts, in spite of, or possibly even because of, their loss.

We’re here for you.

Find A Paisley Event

Paisley Project events offer opportunities to connect with other widows in a welcoming environment to relax, restore, create and learn.

We offer regular classes and workshops, as well as restorative retreats in 5 different states that consist of intimate lodging in peaceful settings, including sessions of art and writing therapy focused on grief.

Discover Our Framework

Everyone’s experience of grief and loss is different, but we address each widow’s story with the framework of L.I.V.E. Everyone moves from the point of Loss, to a shift in their sense of Identity, to a development of a new Vision for her life, and eventually to a point of joyful Engagement with the world.

Community and Coaching

We have a private group feed for widows only. It’s a judgment-free safe space to connect, vent, or celebrate your experiences.

We also offer coaching services to widows who want support from our trained team.

Get connected by clicking the button below and filling out the contact form.

Resources for Helpers

We also have resources for the helpers and supporters of widows.

We offer insight into many topics related to widowhood and grief, including: the science of trauma and loss, statistics affecting widows, ideas about how helpers can be most effective and caring, recommended reading lists, and recommended podcasts.

The Paisley Strong Blog

Featured
How I Learned to L.I.V.E.
How I Learned to L.I.V.E.

In a world where grief is often a hush-hush topic, we vowed to change the narrative. . . . Our road was full of twists and turns, mixed with moments of trial and error. Looking back, I zig-zagged my way through the L.I.V.E. process, crafting my very own journey.

Could You Open My Jar of Pickles, Please?
Could You Open My Jar of Pickles, Please?

A guest post by Paisley Project member, Diane Farris! We appreciate her willingness to share her story and what she has learned.

TEARS IN MY TRUCK
TEARS IN MY TRUCK

Know this: love endures beyond absence. Missing someone doesn’t diminish your capacity to heal or thrive.

Stepping Forward to L.I.V.E
Stepping Forward to L.I.V.E

[T]here is something for you and you are something for others . . . it could be your silence or your words; it could be your tears or your laughter; it could be your heart and soul and spirit; it could be your hands that help or hug or create or stay folded; it could be what you have never thought about; it could be what stirred in you before now awakened out of dormancy; it could be a springboard to who knows where…

Wintering into the New Year
Wintering into the New Year

We don’t have to abide by the timelines of our culture. We can choose to respond to grief—and a New Year—in a way that feels the most supportive and meaningful for us. There isn’t anything magical about things happening on a certain date.

The Paisley Strong Blog offers reflections on all areas of widowhood and grief, as well as some suggestions for the supporters of widows.

We talk about grief and laughter and creativity and family and food.

Make A Donation.

Our mission is to provide essential tools and resources to support women to survive, heal, grow, and thrive after the loss of their husbands, while also mobilizing the widow’s own support network.

Learn more about our mission.

Donate

Your gift helps us…

  • Provide online and in-person connection to other widows through a private, 24-hour group chat;

  • Provide an online library of resources and tools to both the widow and her supporting network its website;

  • Provide online and in-person courses targeted at helping widows survive and thrive after the loss of a husband.

    Topics include: art and writing therapy, somatic healing, recreating safe spaces, both emotionally and physically, and navigating changing relationships after loss;

  • Host off-site multi-day restorative retreats for intimate gathering and connection, art therapy, education, and rest. These events also provide respite for the widow’s regular support network;

  • Develop regular, healing outdoor adventures to reconnect with nature and to provide a safe space for exploration and growth;

  • Host additional local gatherings on difficult holidays, including Christmas and Valentine’s Day;

  • Curate products and gifts designed by widows for widows which can be helpful for widows and their families

Paisley Project is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization in the state of Colorado.

All donations are tax-deductible.

EIN #47-1052225