Mothers and Daughters: A Workshop for Women

Marianne Preger-Simon
March 1-3

"The mother-daughter bond," says Marianne Preger-Simon, "is ordinary, yet miraculous. The depth of connection and the depth of hurt are profound. It's a relationship that influences every other relationship in a woman's life. It affects our creativity, our vitality, and our ability to give and receive love. It affects our connection with the feminine, with our bodies, and with our deepest sense of purpose. The words `mother and daughter' describe more than a personal relationship: they represent potent archetypes and identities. Tending to mother-daughter dynamics can liberate strength, humor, wisdom, and joy. If these dynamics remain buried or rejected, they will haunt us and, almost inevitably, our daughters as well."

This workshop is designed for mothers and daughters to attend either alone or together. We do not depend on present or even living mothers or daughters to heal our mother-daughter wounds. Through lecture, discussion, guided imagery, small-group interaction, music, journal writing, poetry, and artwork, participants will explore the secular and sacred realms of mothers and daughters.

Marianne Preger-Simon has been a psychotherapist in private practice for 23 years. She has led over one hundred workshops on such topics as Values, Race Relations, Women's and Men's Liberation, Couples' Relationships, Creativity, Mothers and Sons, and Mothers and Daughters. She's written many articles for professional journals and was the first dance critic for The Village Voice. She was a teacher in New York, a founding member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and a folk-singer in the Philadelphia Public Schools. She is a wife, mother, step-mother, and grandmother and has the gift of creating a safe space that makes it possible for mothers and daughters to share what needs to be shared.