If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it

— Toni Morrison

Within you, this dream won’t quiet itself.

You have a dozen things pulling on your time. Maybe it’s a full-time, high pressure job. Maybe it’s caregiving for your children, parents, or community. Maybe it's the business you’re launching on the side.

Still, the book that only you can write won’t stop calling your name. Let 2026 be the year you answer.

Bernadette’s Lineage is a writing activation and restoration portal that will teach you how to say yes to yourself, say yes to the book that can only be written by you, and to do so in a way that invites MORE rest and wellness into your life. This experience offers an intentional, tested design that weaves individual and group coaching, tactical strategies, writing industry panels, and somatic, visualization, and restorative practices rooted in ancestral ways of knowing.

Our journey together...

Will be grounded in ceremony, ritual, community, and care

Will explore the shadows, barriers, and narratives that might be in the way of your creative activation, and support finding the flow that works for YOU

Will utilize individual and group coaching, visualization, movement, and mastermind sessions on the writing industry

Bernadette’s Lineage is for you if...

  • You know that it is time to move your writing from the back burner of your life
  • You want to commit to your writing in a sustainable, non-extractive way that keeps you whole, healthy, and rested
  • You want to learn what works for you (not a one-size-fits-all approach)
  • You are committed to healing for the past, present, and future of your lineage, and recognize your creative activation as part of this process
  • You are ready to break bonds with fear, procrastination, and “not-enoughness”
  • You recognize that your dream has become louder than your denial.
  • You don’t just want to write a book - you want to feel good and whole while doing so
  • You are seeking a community of peers walking a similar path

Schedule

Apr 9 to Apr 12 2026

Foundation

  • Opening retreat at the beautiful Mansion at Noble Lane in The Poconos. We will build our community, establish our rhythm, and prepare for our journey
  • Private rooms with ensuite bathrooms and all onsite meals provided
  • Group ground transportation to/from local airport provided
  • Participants are responsible for costs of flights and local city ground transportation

Mar to Nov 2026

Activation

  • Virtual Sessions: Saturdays from 8am - 10am PT/11am - 1pm ET
    Mar 21 May 16 Jun 20 Jul 18 Aug 15 Sep 26 Oct 24 Oct 24
  • All sessions will be recorded, though live attendance is encouraged
  • Small group coaching on barriers (internal and external) to one’s writing life
  • Visioning sessions on literary foremothers — writing greats with full time jobs and demands on their time just like ours, who stand as some of the greatest literary giants in history. We’ll learn from their processes through visualization, video clips, writing excerpts, and more
  • Writing workshops where we’ll go deep with one another’s work in a supportive container
  • Strategy sessions to get clear on the flows that will work for us individually, with no one size fits all approach

May to Nov 2026

TBD

Mastermind

  • Three industry labs — talks and Q&A with an agent, an editor, and a published author on the business side of writing
  • Industry labs will take place on week day evenings during the arc of the program and will be recorded

Apr to Nov 2026

Integration

  • Two 50 min 1:1 coaching sessions. To be scheduled with each participant
  • Scribe Circles — small accountability groups that will support one another’s creative fire
  • Optional co-writing cafes. Private space for participants to gather weekly for virtual writing cafes
  • Private community group for resource sharing and participant connection over the full programmatic arc

Nov 12 - Nov 16 2026

Homecoming

  • Celebration in historic New Orleans. We will celebrate and acknowledge one another’s progress and identify next steps
  • Private rooms with ensuite bathrooms and all onsite meals provided
  • Group ground transportation to/from local airport provided
  • Participants are responsible for costs of flights and local city ground transportation

Investment

The true cost of this offering is $30,000. For the 2 in-person retreats, 8 virtual sessions, 3 industry talks, 2 private coaching sessions, small accountability groups, virtual writing cafes, and comprehensive curriculum grounded in your clarity, creativity, and soul-tending, we are offering a one time introductory rate of $11,500 for early bird registration by January 15, 2026. Registration from January 16 - March 1 2026 will be $12,500.

This is a sacred circle.Space is limited to 11 participants.

Ready? Submit an application. Our team will be in touch with you within 24 hours of receiving your application.

Apply

Your Container Holders

Idrissa Simmonds-Nastili

Idrissa Simmonds-Nastili

Founder, Coach, and Novelist

Olivia Brayan

Olivia (Liv) Brayan

Operations

Shirley Johnson

Shirley Johnson

Soulistic Wellness – In-person retreat wellness offerings