What People Say About My Services
From women who have participated in my groups:
I feel so comfortable and accepted in this great group of women. . . .I just loved our meeting last night. What a perfect group of women. And you are just brilliant and inspiring. I can’t tell you how perfect our group meeting is for me.—AJ, Santa Fe, New Mexico
I feel so comfortable and accepted in this great group of women. . . .I just loved our meeting last night. What a perfect group of women. And you are just brilliant and inspiring. —MH, Santa Fe, New Mexico
My time with the group has been a great opening to getting back to life. After two years of digging out from 4th stage cancer I now feel unstuck. I am really full of gratitude to Hollis and to each of you.—RN, Santa Fe, New Mexico
From ritual clients:
We love the wedding ceremony you created for us and appreciate that you worked with us to make it personal. You put us at ease about the actual wedding day, and we are happy you led our ceremony. —A & R, New York, New York
Words cannot express the beauty, integrity and magic that your words and guidance brought to our wedding! You are extremely gifted and we are ever thankful for sharing those gifts with us on our special day! — J & C, Santa Fe, New Mexico
It was a pleasure to collaborate with you. We are very grateful to you for expertly creating and leading us through a very personal and intimate wedding ceremony. Our friends and family were delighted with your company and would have happily welcomed more time with you.— N & B, New York and Washington, D.C.
It was wonderful to have you officiating at H and M’s wedding ceremony last Friday. They could not have asked for anyone better to usher them into married life. The ceremony was a perfect combination of traditional, Buddhist, and personal. Thank you so much for all the work you did before the ceremony, and for making the wedding so memorable. —From the mother of the bride, Santa Fe, New Mexico (the couple resides in Washington. D.C.)
You were perfect, everyone loved you! I heard comments: “so well structured,” “captured
the very essence of John.’’ You delivered the eulogy in just the right tone; for a moment
you brought John back to me. Thank you ever so much. I will never forget what a wonderful job you did for John. –PH, Benicia, California
From spiritual guidance clients:
What a wonderful first session with you! I appreciated how you held the space for me to be honest and to sit with me with my most difficult questions without trying to find a solution to save me from my pain. . . . The session brought me a sense of focus and peace that I didn’t feel beforehand. . . .I am very excited to do this work with you.—EH, Los Angeles, California
I can’t speak highly enough of Hollis. She’s completely engaged, a soothing yet bracing blend of counselor, theologian, professor, artist, and friend. She effortlessly, fearlessly accompanied me wherever I needed a spiritual companion: into the intellect, the spirit, into dreams, emotions, questions, and doubts. Each time we met, my frayed spirit was calmed, and I left the session with at least one solid new insight or perfect resource for my needs. –TC, Berkeley, California
From a grief support client:
Thanks for listening and holding my heart as I walk through this grief. It has made a great difference. —MF, Santa Fe, New Mexico
From a home blessing client:
When we sold the house in Santa Fe in which I had lived for 21 years and my partner for the last 16, we asked Hollis to perform a “Farewell” ceremony. A small circle of friends, and the couple who had bought the home attended. Hollis’ ceremony was simultaneously solemn and joyful; everybody was invited to participate, and the event combined elements of any number of spiritualities, so nobody’s beliefs were ignored. It made turning the house over to new owners so much easier for us and for them.—EK, Tucson, Arizona
From the reader of a Legacy Memoir:
Thank you for sending me a copy of your memoir with RM, which I read with great interest. It was remarkable, not just for the story of R’s life, but also for what you achieved with him—helping him integrate and heal the traumas of his youth with your great caritas and perseverance. Your work was like an archaeologist finding buried pieces of marble, then patiently piecing them together. . . It dramatizes how late life reminiscence is literally remembering—the opposite of dismemberment. —AC, San Francisco, California
From a hospital chaplaincy patient:
You helped me accept my illness and to begin to see the good in myself. You have done more to help me repair my self-esteem than anyone. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.—SM, Napa, California
From a hospital chaplaincy patient, written by her husband:
I’ve thought a lot about why we appreciate you so much. The essence is that we felt you cared and that you knew who we were. S. was getting sicker and sicker. We were afraid she might die from some acute problem at any moment. . . . .I hear people talking about having a calling, and you embody what I wish all of them meant. . . .Your concern seemed completely genuine to us and seems to flow from your personal essence. Your presence was a tremendous relief for me, because I knew you would be there for S. ––JD, Napa, California
From the husband of a hospice patient:
You have been such a pleasant surprise, bringing laughter and joy to our sad house. Thank you for engaging and animating C., sharing tales, and offering your friendship. Personally, I appreciate your effortless enthusiasm. It has provided great relief for me. —HB, Santa Fe, New Mexico
I am grateful to the clients whose letters are reproduced here.–HW