The Break-Up Retreat(72)
“It’s a long story,” I say. “But I had my reasons. And I wasn’t the only one out there.”
I turn my head, looking at Clara.
“Clara was out there, too.”
Clara smiles, small and tight. She looks around at the rest of us.
“I don’t know why she’s trying to freak out all out like this,” she says, “but I think there’s something you should know.”
“Clara—” Leyla starts, a warning note in her voice, but Clara just keeps talking over her.
“Isobel isn’t who she says she is. She’s a journalist. She’s been here, this whole time, lying about who she is, listening to all your secrets for a fucking article she wants to write.”
The others turn and stare at me. I put my hands up.
“Listen,” I begin.
“What the—?” Pernilla draws up, every syllable clipped and furious.
The door swings open and hits the opposite wall. Martina is standing there, holding a tray of cookies, Anna right behind her with a teapot and a stack of mugs.
“Ready to continue?” Martina asks, as the wind makes the windows shake in their frames.
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doctormartinahastings A year of planning, countless hours of sweat, blood (sometimes literal!), and tears, and now I finally get to say what I’ve been dreaming of saying for almost eighteen months: the Himlafall Clinic is finally open.
I’m not ashamed to tell you all that I cried when the contractor called (shoutout to @mikkelrasmussen for helping me make my dreams come true!) to tell me that everything was, finally, ready to go.
When I started this project, I wanted to create something that had never been done before. I wanted to fuse my years of research, of practice, of psychology and philosophy and spirituality, into something completely new. A place where women could go to heal their inner children, to learn how to love themselves and love others, and to value their own inner voices.
In short: I wanted to create a place where we would treat our patients so well, they would never settle for anything less than what they deserve ever again.
And now it’s here. It’s reality. I still can’t believe it. (I actually woke up last night from a nightmare where I dreamed that they had found snakes in the pond . . . how very Freudian of me.)
In just a couple of weeks, we will open our doors to our first batch of patients. We already have a months-long waiting list, and I am so honored by that fact. Your belief, your trust, and your patience got us here. Together, we are going to change the world.
Together, we are going to mend each other.
If you are interested in starting your healing journey with us at the Himlafall Clinic, you can go to the link in my profile to sign up for the waiting list. The criteria for admittance are all listed in the form, and we are open to anyone who identifies as a woman and has a broken heart.
If you want to follow along on our journey, or learn more about the Hastings method, you can sign up for my newsletter, Musings with Doctor Martina (link in profile), where we discuss everything from the healing power of rage to how to tackle dating with an intentional mindset. Please, come join our community of over 20,000 like-minded women, where we grow and evolve together.
Tonight, I will be celebrating the culmination of all our hard work with a special bottle of champagne, delivered to me by @weeklywines ! Every bottle at Weekly Wines is organic and handpicked by their award-winning sommeliers, and right now, you get 15% off when you sign up for their weekly delivery service and use code “DoctorMartina.” Whether you’re celebrating a win or drowning your sorrows, wine is there to help.
4189 comments
mmmmarie001 you are amazing!!! I wish I could go but sadly im still married, haha!!
larsenaxel ur pretty hot for someone whose so old
clarabellavida Are you hiring? I don’t have a degree in psychology but I’ve read a lot about it and I am so passionate about helping people!! I would love to work with you. I’ve read all your books twice and I really look up to you.
susiew oh my god!! congratulations! i signed up for the waitlist, i didn’t get a spot yet but i can wait.
mickewallin haha yes @doctormartinahastings she’s your biggest fan!!
susiew oh my god STOPPP!! remove the tag right now, you’re so embarrassing!!
Chapter 40
Anna pulls over a table from the corner before pouring everyone cups of tea, while Martina grabs a cookie from the plate and takes a big bite, the crunch so loud I flinch.
I put my mug back down on the table as the others sip from theirs. I don’t want to touch anything they would serve me.
“Doctor, do you want me to go get you a cup of rose hip tea from your office?” Anna is still pale, and I see, when she picks up the now-empty teapot, that her hand is shaking slightly. She grabs her wrist with her other hand, stilling it, and plasters on a smile.
“No, Anna, that’s all right,” Martina shoots her a thin smile. “I’m not very thirsty. Thank you, though.”
Anna exits the room, and Martina says, as though in casual conversation:
“Isn’t that nice of her? She knows I don’t care for lavender.”
No one responds. The silence hangs in the air, cold and oppressive, like a miniature version of the rainstorm outside, about to erupt.
Martina directs her attention back to Katarina.