You have to be willing to let go of the life you had planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for you. ~ Joseph Campbell

Last week’s post, How To Know When It’s Time to Walk Away, had some of you concerned. Questions came flooding in: Is the foundation folding? What exactly are you walking away from? What’s going on?

I wasn’t trying to be cryptic.

I simply wanted to share the real truth behind the lessons learned over the last year. I appreciate all of your supportive comments and emails and am incredibly grateful to have you in our tribe.

Today is all about where this dream is headed. The A Fresh Chapter is most definitely not folding. We are ‘open for business’ and our team of volunteers and board members is more passionate than ever. We’re staying committed to our focus on international programming, rather than losing ourselves in heavily customized domestic programs, while also creating opportunities for people living with advanced cancer to experience a meaningful adventure.

The Dream Gets Bigger & Better

Introducing FCAF Odyssey

Our FCAF Odyssey programs will create an opportunity for anyone living with advanced cancer to join us for a domestic adventure.

Our six-day pilot program is scheduled to kick-off in Los Angeles in October 2015. We’ll spend the first 3 days in the City of Angels where we’ll visit one of our favourite volunteer partners, eat healthy/delicious meals, and meet with a leading expert on finding grace and resilience while living with cancer. We’ll have plenty of down time to rest and we’ll even have the opportunity to visit one of our favourite beaches and listen to the surf crash as the sun disappears into the Pacific Ocean.

Our adventures always include travel, so on the fourth morning, we’ll hit the open road and travel to Sedona, AZ. While there, we’ll have time for restorative yoga, meditation, and an introduction to Native American culture. Finally, we’ll cap off the trip with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to watch the sky light up over the Grand Canyon. This program is still taking shape and we look forward to sharing details on how to apply as they become available.

For more information, stay tuned for a FCAF Odyssey page or email us at fcaf@afreshchapter.com.

Expanding FCAF International

It was following treatment for breast cancer that I found myself grappling with feelings of isolation, depression, survivor guilt, and anger. I didn’t want to stay in the dark place where cancer had deposited me, but I didn’t feel like a traditional support group was what I needed. As many of you know, it was in my search for inspiration that I signed up for a volunteer trip to Africa.

My six weeks volunteering at an underfunded daycare in the Townships of Cape Town followed by a dream-come-true trip to Victoria Falls helped me see that struggle is universal and that even if I couldn’t go back to who I was before cancer, reinvention was possible. I came home determined to help other people who had experienced cancer find healing and renewed perspective through international adventures.

This is what sparked the Big Hairy Audacious Dream. Since then, FCAF has run two international programs in New Delhi, India and we’ll be launching our third in March of 2015. But, here’s the exciting news. We know people in our tribe have dreams of traveling to many countries in the world and we’re thrilled to be expanding our programs. Next up?

• Cape Town, South Africa (November 2015)
• New Delhi, India (March 2016)
• South America (2016 – Exact dates/locations TBD). 

If you have dreams of experiencing an international adventure as part of your fresh chapter, make sure you’re signed up for the FCAF Tribe. You’ll be the first to know when program applications open.

The Dream Is Moving Beyond Cancer…

In two weeks, I depart for India where our next group of FCAF Delhi participants will join Deirdre and me for two incredible weeks of volunteering and a trip to the Taj Mahal. Then, I’ll carry on to Cape Town, South Africa to lay the groundwork for our planned launch of FCAF Cape Town later this year.

But it doesn’t end there….

I’ve always believed in expanding A Fresh Chapter beyond cancer. There are many reasons why each of us needs a fresh start and travel is an incredible catalyst for reminding us what is possible.

For those of you who haven’t had cancer and have been asking about when you can join us on the road, your chance is almost here. This fall, we’re planning to launch our first FC Adventure trip in my favourite country in the world: Namibia. Nestled directly north west of South Africa, Namibia is one of the most beautiful and diverse countries on the planet. It has the Big 5 in Etosha National Park, the rolling surf in Swakopmund, the red sand dunes of Sossuslvei, and the beautiful expanse of Fish River Canyon. We will have room for 16 Adventurers to join me in Windhoek, Namibia where our journey will begin. We’ll head north for our safari and then continue south down the coast and through the desert until we end up beneath the grandeur of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa.

The trip will be even more meaningful because our Adventurers will have each raised funds to support the work of FCAF and will even be in Cape Town to greet our first round of FCAF Cape Town participants. Together we’ll spend an afternoon honouring Nelson Mandela’s legacy at Robben Island and then experience an epic day exploring the beauty of Cape Point and the most southwesterly tip of the African continent where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. Our Adventurers will depart having seen the impact of their fundraising dollars and our FCAF program will kick off with our next set of participants who want to give back as a way to heal.

Stay tuned as more details become available. If you want to be the first to know about how to get in on the adventure, send an email to fcaf@afreshchapter.com with the subject line, “I want to know more about Namibia” and we’ll share the details with you before anyone else. We know these spots will go quickly and we can’t wait to share this experience with you.

So – as you can see, we are definitely not folding. The adventures are just beginning and I’m so grateful for the lessons learned along the way. This week’s big reminder? When you walk away from what no longer serves you, you create space for bigger dreams to arrive. Thank you to all of you for staying with me through this journey and sharing your comments and perspectives along the way. Here’s to the incredible adventures ahead…

Join Our Community

If you want to receive updates from A Fresh Chapter, you can join us on Twitter, Facebook, or get posts delivered directly to your inbox. Thanks for spreading the word and helping our tribe grow. Every day we’re reinventing what is possible in our lives.

If you have experienced cancer and you’re interested in FCAF Odyssey or FCAF International, make sure you’re signed up for updates here: Be Part of the FCAF Tribe. We can’t wait to meet you and help you experience a dream come true!

If our mission resonates with you and you want to get involved as a FC Adventurer, a volunteer/agent of change or a funding partner, we can’t wait to hear from you. Contact us here to let us know how you’d like to be involved.