One 2017 retreat participant told the story of his arrival and experience at a cancer retreat:

“There was a sense of peace as we drove up the driveway onto this beautiful property. Knowing that we were able to come here and do this together as a couple – not as ‘one is the patient, one is the caregiver’, but really together as one, on this journey. Everyone from the gardener to the volunteers – everybody – here at Harmony Hill made us feel so welcomed to be here. Knowing that everybody is facing their own journey, that’s why they’re here, knowing that we all have our challenges.

Everyone here shared a common bond. When we’re back home, in Seattle, and you talk to people, they want to feel compassionate, they want to say that they understand. I’m not saying they don’t, but it’s different… here, everybody shared that same common bond. We experienced heartfelt genuine laughter with other cancer patients, caregivers, and staff. We had a common purpose. We all knew we shared that, ‘Okay, yeah. We’re fighting something that’s unfortunate in our lives, but we are all beating it.’ We didn’t have to talk about that, it was jokes, it was being together and it felt normal.”

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