Mother Hunger® Healing with Horses Retreat

An intimate journey back to yourself — held with safety, attunement, and deep compassion.
October 15–18, 2026 · HapBE Valley, just outside Asheville, NC · Limited to 8 women

About the Retreat

There’s a particular kind of ache that so many women carry and can’t quite name — a quiet longing that shows up as perfectionism, people-pleasing, a complicated relationship with food, or relationships that never feel like quite enough. Therapist and bestselling author Kelly McDaniel named this ache Mother Hunger® — the lifelong impact of lost nurturance, protection, or guidance in childhood.

This four-day, three-night retreat offers a gentle path back to yourself. Over four days, you’ll be held in a small, intimate group of women on a similar path, guided by a licensed trauma therapist and supported by the quiet, honest presence of horses. This isn’t about doing more or fixing yourself. It’s an invitation to come home — to your body, your story, and your own capacity for nurturance, protection, and guidance that has always been within you.

You don’t need any experience with horses. You just need a willingness to slow down, feel, and BE.

Mother Hunger® is a registered trademark and framework developed by Kelly McDaniel, LCMHC, author of Mother Hunger: How Adult Daughters Can Understand and Heal from Lost Nurturance, Protection, and Guidance (Hay House, 2021).

About the Facilitator

Emily Davis, MSW, LCSW
Clinical Director, Trauma Therapist & Mother Hunger® Trained Facilitator

Emily is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who combines her clinical expertise with the unique presence of horses to create experiences that help women reconnect with themselves, develop felt safety, and experience healing in ways that words alone cannot always provide. Emily practices evidence-based and somatically informed therapy that helps participants reconnect with the wisdom of their bodies and experience lasting healing. She guides participants in exploring the relational and generational patterns that shape their beliefs, behaviors, and relationships.

Emily was chosen as one of the first five certified Mother Hunger® facilitators to train with Kelly McDaniel, LCMHC. While a specialist in a number of therapeutic modalities, Emily has found some of the most profound healing occurs in the presence of horses. Their honest, nonjudgmental nature and remarkable ability to attune to what lies beneath the surface create opportunities for transformation that extend beyond words alone.

Emily holds space with steadiness and warmth, meeting each woman exactly where she is — never rushing the process, never asking you to perform your healing. She believes, “We are wounded in relationship and we must heal in relationship.”

During this retreat, a second licensed therapist joins her, so every woman in the group receives close, attentive care.

Learn more about Emily’s at https://grimeseffectivecounseling.com/

Listen to Kelly Mc Daniel on Mel Robbins’ Podcast.

Why Attend / Who Is This For?

This retreat is for the woman who has never quite felt like she is enough — who learned early on that love had to be earned, and that no matter how good, how smart, how accomplished she was, it still wasn’t enough. If you find yourself over-achieving, over-performing, striving for perfection, or going above and beyond for everyone but yourself, this space was built for you. That striving isn’t a flaw. It’s what you learned to do in hopes of feeling worthy of love from the one person who was supposed to love you unconditionally. And when that love feels conditional, it’s easy to carry the belief that you’ll never be enough into every relationship that follows. This work is about setting that belief down — gently, in community, and with the honest presence of horses.

Release old survival patterns and beliefs that no longer serve you
Reclaim your authentic voice and sense of self-worth
Heal in community — you are not alone in this
Make space for grief, courage, and transformation

Why Horses?

Horses can heal what words can’t. Talk therapy is powerful but sometimes the pain lives so deep in your nervous system that words just can’t reach it. Grief. Loss. The ache that won’t lift. That kind of pain isn’t stored in the mind. It’s stored in the body.

Horses are non-verbal, they don’t ask you to explain yourself or need your story. They read your emotional state before you’ve said a word. Just being in the presence of these sacred, magical and wise beings help you create a somatic shift that therapy alone can’t touch.

Suddenly, you feel seen. Heard. A little less alone.

And loved in the way you may not have experienced as a child.

What’s Included

Four days of equine-facilitated healing work combined with Mother Hunger® therapeutic process, guided by Emily Davis, MSW, LCSW and a second licensed therapist
3 nights’ private-room lodging at an Airbnb just minutes from HapBE Valley
Farm-to-table lunch and dinner, prepared by a private chef with an Ayurvedic-inspired approach, using local ingredients and holistic, seasonal, intentional menus
Time in nature for reflection, journaling grounding, and connection with yourself and other women on a similar path
Optional morning movement to help settle the nervous system before each day begins
A sound healing ceremony with a local sound artist

What’s Not Included

Flights and travel to/from Asheville (AVL) — conveniently served by direct flights from 26 cities, with an exciting new terminal
Transportation to and from HapBE Valley
Any extra nights required before or after the retreat — it may be possible to arrive early or stay an additional night at the Airbnb, just ask us when reserving otherwise Hotels are a simple option.
Enhancements including private massage/bodywork and reiki/energy healing sessions.

The Schedule

Arrival — The retreat formally begins at 1:00 PM on Thursday, October 15, as we gather as a group to start building our container together. Please plan your travel so you can arrive at HapBE Valley by this time. We’ll enjoy our first farm-to-table dinner, followed by dessert at the ceremonial fire pit.
Daily Rhythm — Each day begins at 9:00 AM at HapBE Valley and blends Mother Hunger®-informed group and individual process time with equine sessions. There will be optional morning movement to help regulate the nervous system before the day begins. Morning sessions will include a 15–20-minute break to breathe and reset. Midday brings a longer, unhurried 90-minute lunch — time enough to walk, stretch, journal, and reflect before we gather again. Afternoons include continued sessions along with time for rest and integration, concluding around 5:00 PM. We’ll share an early dinner on site, ending around sunset, before making our way back to our accommodations.
Meals — Lunch and dinner are farm-to-table, catered and served on the HapBE Valley property. Mornings begin at your accommodations, with breakfast ingredients provided for you to prepare at your own pace. Coffee, tea, other beverages, and healthy snacks are available throughout your time with us.
Departure — The retreat closes Sunday, October 18, at 3:00 PM, following a final morning of integration, lunch together, and a closing circle. Please arrange flights so that you are here for the closing of our container.
Holding a Sacred, Sober Space — Our retreat is alcohol-free and illegal substances are strictly prohibited. We have clients coming from many different backgrounds, and out of respect for one another, we honor a sober environment.

Enhancements

Extend your healing with optional private add-on sessions, available before or after the retreat:

Reiki & Energy Healing with Horses — Upon Request
Massage & Bodywork — Upon Request

Space for these sessions is limited — we recommend booking early.

Accommodations

You’ll have your own private room at a cute Airbnb just minutes from HapBE Valley — a place to rest and recover each night, while still feeling connected to the group.

Farm-fresh eggs and other breakfast ingredients are provided each morning, so you can prepare something nourishing at your own pace and on your own time. We’ll be happy to accommodate allergies or dietary restrictions.

The Land

HapBE Valley sits at the base of Hanlon Mountain (3189 ft), less than 20 minutes west of downtown Asheville — a generational family property recently turned into an equine and wellness farm, a sanctuary for reflection and renewal. Rolling pastures, a mile-long walking trail crossing a quiet stream that runs partially through the forest, a spring-fed pond, and sweeping views of the valley and long-range views of the Blue Ridge Mountains including Mount Mitchell the highest peak east of the Mississippi — all invite you to slow down and reconnect.

You’ll spend time in our beautiful event barn and work down in the valley with the herd. We have a covered arena in case of inclement weather. Ceremonial fire pits and serene spaces dot the property, offering quiet corners for reflection between sessions. This is land that has been lovingly tended to hold exactly this kind of work: healing, transformation, and the slow return to yourself.

Testimonials

“I've spent most of my life moving fast enough to stay ahead of my pain, building a beautiful life while never feeling fully settled within it. The combination of Emily's warmth, wisdom, and therapeutic skill alongside the horses' extraordinary ability to attune to what my words could not express felt like a weighted blanket for my nervous system. In just four days in this healing space, they helped me stop running from myself, trust the quiet, and experience a level of healing I didn't know was possible.”

“I have spent much of my life feeling unseen, unworthy, and unsure of my place in the world. During one of the most powerful moments of the retreat, the horses seemed to sense exactly what I needed, offering comfort and connection while Emily gently guided me through a painful part of my story. Their combined presence helped me experience a sense of safety, belonging, and self-compassion that I will carry with me forever, I’ll never believe I’m unlovable again.”

"The retreat really showed me that what happened to me as a child was not my fault and it was not my mother’s fault. But it is an opportunity – I know it doesn’t have to feel like this. I realize what a huge impact my mother had on my life, and I am grateful I had the chance to do the work I’m now doing to heal."

The whole [retreat] experience of being in a room with women who commited to doing this work for themselves was so healing and therapeutic. I didn’t know any of them, everyone had a different story and issue with their mothers, and yet it was so comforting to be in the room with those people.

“I’m looking at things more honestly. I’m more aware of my body and I’m noticing what’s happening around me and how I’m feeling and I’ve stopped people pleasing and saying yes all the time.

Now I realized how much of an impact my relationship with my mom has had on every area of my life. I knew that what she did wasn’t normal, but the community at the retreat and the education there helped me realize that I had compartmentalized all the little pieces throughout my life that were off. The retreat helped me see the big picture. I’m able to make more sense of things now.”

"If you have Mother Hunger and live in pain, go [to the retreat]. You will realize you are not alone, and you can begin the process of learning who you are and your true beauty where you thought there was none."

"I’ve been in a state of hyperarousal since I was born. I’m never still, I’m an over-achiever, I always have to be doing something. [At the retreat] it became very clear to me that these traits are my way of dissociating from how I feel in my body and I’ve given myself permission to stop and breathe, because it isn’t serving me."

“I learned it’s possible to make a change – it’s a lot of work and it’s not easy, but by being willing to work through some of the hardest, saddest things in my life, I have found genuine happiness and goodness all around me.”

“I’ve read every self help book but when I found Mother Hunger it was just totally different, because I finally found words to describe what I went through my whole life. After I read the book I felt like there was a way out, like ‘Oh my god, this is exaclty how I feel’, and the retreat helped me find that way out.”

“I feel so lucky that I got to do this [retreat]. I feel like I owe my life to Emily and her team.”

"I knew immediately after reading the book Mother Hunger® that I needed additional support. It's taken me decades to understand how growing up with an absent and drug-addicted mother really impacted me and led to so many destructive behaviors in my past. The shame I've been carrying around all these years has been crushing. So when I found Emily's Mother Hunger® retreat, I knew I had to book it right away."

"If you're on the fence or questioning whether or not to attend this retreat, my advice is: don't overthink it. Don't let anxiety, fear, or guilt stand in your way. Do it for yourself and for the people you care about in your life. It is truly the best investment I have made. I can't imagine anything I could have done for myself at this point in my journey that would have been more beneficial than Emily's Mother Hunger® retreat."

"Her amazing team of practitioners take a holistic approach to helping you heal. They're such gifted and generous women, and they're there to give you as much as you're willing to give yourself. They helped me get comfortable with being uncomfortable at times, and they encouraged me to challenge my thinking — in the most loving, safe, and supportive place."

"They provided me with so much clarity, for the first time in my life, about what I was put on this earth to do, and about all of the emotional burden I wasn't even aware I was carrying. I think the biggest takeaway from the retreat was that I'm not alone in my suffering — being around other women who understand the same injury was so refreshing and therapeutic in itself."

Investment & Reservation

Total Investment: $4,300, including 3 nights’ lodging and meals.

To reserve your space, we require a 50% deposit. The remaining 50% is due 60 days before the retreat. If you cancel with at least 30 days’ notice, we’ll refund 50% of your payment. Cancellations within 30 days of the retreat will only be refunded in full if we’re able to fill your spot. Thank you for your understanding — with such an intimate group, each reservation holds a place that matters.

Because this retreat is intentionally small, we invite you to connect with Emily for a brief call before reserving your place.
It’s a gentle opportunity to ask questions, get to know one another, and make sure this experience feels like the right place to be held and supported in your healing.