Recovery & Rediscovery: A Retreat for the Courageous Journey
February 20-22, 2026
with Debra Murray and Rosalie Hooper Thomas
At the Christine Center, recovery is honored as a living miracle — a brave, ongoing act of returning to one’s truest self. Recovery & Rediscovery invites participants to explore the deep wisdom held within their own stories, surrounded by the quiet beauty of the forest and a community that understands the sacredness of healing.
Designed for those in recovery and for those who provide services to others in recovery, this retreat offers a soulful blend of reflection, learning, and creative expression. We will visit the landscape of recovery through the lenses of Joseph Campbell, Clarissa Pinkola Estés, and other wisdom-keepers who illuminate the universal arc of transformation — from struggle, to courage, to rebirth.
Together we will:
- Reflect on the hero’s journey as a map of resilience and awakening
- Explore the fierce, compassionate teachings of Women Who Run With the Wolves and similar works
- Celebrate the ways recovery invites us to recreate, re-imagine, and reclaim our lives
Share time for journaling, silence, and personal integration - Engage in optional art-making, gentle drumming, and contemplative practices that help the body remember joy and creativity
This is a weekend to honor where you’ve been, to rediscover what is emerging, and to rejoice in the gift of becoming — again and again.
Come as you are. Bring your story, your courage, and your hope.
We’ll walk this healing path together.
All are welcome—this retreat is open to anyone in any form of recovery
Your
Guides
for the Journey
Debra Murray, PsyD
Facilitator
Deb is a licensed psychologist, counselor educator, and longtime companion of recovery and healing journeys. Grounded in strength-based, person-centered approaches, Deb brings decades of experience supporting individuals navigating recovery, resilience, and life transitions.
A graduate of Viterbo University, St. Mary’s University (Rochester, MN), and the University of St. Thomas, Deb was a former professor and Director of Counselor Education at Viterbo University and Wisconsin’s first certified Motivational Interviewing trainer. She has worked extensively with substance use and co-occurring disorders, relapse prevention, and stress management, and later served as Clinical Director of Behavioral Health at Scenic Bluffs Community Health Centers.
An Affiliate of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, Deb has been connected to The Christine Center for many years as a retreatant, volunteer, and advocate. She brings a Franciscan spirit of hospitality, compassion, and inclusion to her facilitation, honoring recovery as a sacred and creative journey of rediscovery.
Rosalie Hooper Thomas
Facilitator
Rosalie is a spiritual director and retreat guide who has spent decades accompanying individuals on paths of healing, transformation, and deep listening to the movements of the Spirit. Her work is shaped by nearly four decades of lived wisdom drawn from 12-step spirituality, contemplative practice, and the steady grace of daily transformation.
For many years, Rosalie led retreats and programs centered on recovery, spiritual renewal, and embodied wholeness, creating spaces where honesty, humility, and hope could gently take root. She has a particular call towards helping people recognize the sacred arc of their own journeys — honoring loss and struggle while celebrating the quiet miracles of becoming new.
Rosalie is an Affiliate of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, and her approach is deeply informed by the Franciscan values of compassion, simplicity, and hospitality. Now retired from formal administrative roles, she continues to offer spiritual direction and retreat leadership that invites authenticity, courage, and a return to one’s truest self.