Sheri's Camp Story

My name is Sheri Tidwell. I'm the founder of True North Soul Camp and a Brave Girl. 

 I live in the Central Valley of California – a bountiful place, where we get to enjoy all the benefits of the farmers who live here, the beautiful Delta waterways, and a short drive to many of California's jewels like the Sierras, the Bay Area and the coast. I love summer, campfires, and getting to the ocean as often as I can.  Creating beautiful spaces and things like art, poetry, food and needlework is good for my creative soul.  In our home we celebrate everything.  

I was born and raised in Ventura, California.  In 1985 when I was 19, I married Michael, my childhood sweetheart and moved north.  Michael and I raised four awesome kids, who are all now grown and living their own adventurous lives. I have an adorable granddaughter I love to pieces. She’s perfect, of course. (Nana’s are supposed to say that.) I love my life now, and have always loved it for the most part. My mom called me Polly Anna because I saw life as a challenge, but believed that life and people, are for the most part, good.  There was a part of my life I didn’t love and it was actually pretty awful. I learned a lot during those awful times. 

Like many in California, and across the country, we were hit hard by the recession in 2010. My home-based  business, which had been thriving, began to drop off dramatically.   Michael, who had never been out of work in over 30 years, lost his job when the automotive plant he was working in closed. We struggled a lot then. We lost our health insurance, had a car repossessed, our home went into foreclosure, and we lost our retirement savings trying to stay afloat.  What a mess. It would be years before we would begin to recover from all this and start to feel financially stable again.

During these same years, other things happened that added to the stress, worry, lost sleep, and long slow decline of my joy. It seemed we were living in constant crisis mode, and my daily routine was mostly all about putting out fires as fast as I could.  I had an injury to my knee which took a long time to heal. My father died and Michael’s mom died a month apart. Michael’s dad was diagnosed with colon cancer, and my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. I became the full-time caregiver for my mother for four years while she gradually became more and more sick, requiring more and more support in her daily life. Because of my mother’s illness, I had to leave a job I loved – working full time for a nonprofit training advocates for foster children – which broke my heart a little... and it sure didn’t help the finances any.  

Of course, even during times of crises, life goes on.  I was still a wife and a mom to four kids who were growing up and moving along in life, as they should. Both my daughters got married (10 months apart!), my oldest son got engaged, my youngest moved out and went to college, and then my mom moved in when she was too sick to live alone any more. 

In August 2016, after a long stay in ICU my mom lost her battle with her illness and passed away.  It was after my mom passed, that I could say - out loud - that I was flat worn out. My cardboard cutout that showed the world I was keeping it all together no matter what came my way, crashed to the ground, too heavy to lift any longer.  My creativity was gone, used up, on all the problem solving and crisis management I’d been doing at home and at work. My joy was gone, replaced by a sense of responsibility, anxiousness, and exhaustion. I had just decided that life, for me, had changed to this… and this was how it was going to be for me from now on. 

I was so deep down soul sick. And I didn't even know it.  I just thought I’d “grown up,” let go of childish ideals about life, and that this was my life from now on. A life that was mostly joyless with responsibilities I had to face head on – day in and day out.

Thankfully, that wasn’t true! 

I found my way to Brave Girls Camp and the Soul Restoration workshop. Honestly, I really didn’t think they had anything to offer me – because I was the problem solver in my life. Those around me came to me for advice, counsel, pep talks, fundraising ideas, a shoulder for comfort…. What would Brave Girls be able to offer me? But I went anyway with the gentle encouragement of my husband who wanted to help me, but just didn't know how. 

Going to camp changed my life. I know that sounds really sales-pitchy, but it's the truth. The woman that walked in the door at camp carrying so much with her was worried... worried if she started crying she'd never stop.  The beautiful and brave women I met who gave me the courage to really listen to what my soul was telling me, the incredible curriculum that’s like a  map that helped me figure things out for myself, the comforting way I was cared for by the staff during my stay, all helped me to feel loved and supported in my journey back to myself through Soul Restoration.

I can honestly say I learned so much during those years that were so hard on me. So much about life, love, family, loss. And I learned that I can do some really hard things. Polly Anna was a tough chick! 

I left camp feeling like myself again. I was so relieved to discover I was still in there!  I knew I was going to be okay.  I felt like the light in me had been turned back on and that the magic I once felt about life was back.  My husband could see it, my kids could see it, my friends could see it.  Oddly enough, hearing them tell me they could see a change in me, that I was  myself again, that I was "back," made me a little sad too. Because I thought I was doing such a great job with my cardboard cutout - keeping up the appearance that it was all good, that I had it all handled, that no one needed to worry - about me or anything else!  I have a lot of compassion for that woman who was so overwhelmed.   It felt so good to put that cardboard cutout down! 

Soul Restoration impacted my life so much, that I knew I had to share it with others.   I made the decision to become a Certified Soul Restoration Instructor.  I went to Idaho and trained with Melody Ross, the co-founder of Brave Girls Club and the author and creator of Soul Restoration. Before I even left the Boise airport I was working on opening up True North Soul Camp and setting dates for workshops and retreats for women who need a map back to themselves - like I did.  

Soul Restoration is the compass by which I live. I love what I do and I’d love, LOVE to share this with you.  You don’t need to fear anything and you don’t have to be as soul sick as I was to truly benefit from Soul Restoration. Think of it is a kind of soul check-up and how to prevent yourself from becoming soul sick.  

Be sure to read more about the course and watch a video about Soul Restoration on the home page. Check out the Questions and Answers pages here too.  There's so much more to share with you! 

Dear Sister...  You are so very loved.  I see you.  I hear you. If you're like I was and feeling so worn out, I promise there is a better way to live! I have a map and I'll share it with you.  Come to camp. I'm saving you a seat.  

Sheri xo