STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Thanksgiving can be a little difficult for some as they come together with family members with whom they have long-hidden grudges, resentments or, simply, misunderstandings that have not been cleared up.

Susan Aiken has a remedy for that.

She’s come up with a practice focused on generational joy and healing that she presented this past summer at the annual Joy Summit held in Sun Valley.

Aiken asked those gathered around in a circle to think of someone in their lives whom they feel disconnected from—perhaps because of unspoken truths, difficult memories or  emotional distance.

“Allow yourself to revisit the hard stories but with new eyes,” she said. “Honor those who might have hurt us; consider that they were doing the best they could with the tools they had.”

Is there a joyful memory you might have overlooked in the midst of the pain? she asked.

She then asked those present to write a short essay or letter, reflecting on the person they were thinking of. If you can’t recall a joyful memory of them, rewrite the story, she said.

“Rewrite the story, not to erase the past but to give it new meaning. Let compassion guide you into a place where both pain and joy can co-exist,” she said.

You don’t have to send the letter. Just start it, she added.

“In Susan’s beautiful reflective workshop, we explored how writing can be a bridge—a way to reconnect, not just with others but with ourselves,” said Hilary Anderson, who founded the Joy Summit three years ago. “What if we allowed ourselves to revisit the hard stories but with new eyes? What if we honored that those who hurt us may have been doing the best they could...with the tools they had?

“And what if, through breath, compassion and presence, we gave a voice to what’s been silenced inside us?”

The Joy Summit is like a summer camp for the soul,” said Anderson, a Ketchum Feng Shui coach.

“Those who attended learned self-knowledge. They learned to say ‘Yes’ to joy. And each  workshop interconnected like puzzle pieces forming a field of healing joy and insight,” she added

The next Joy Summit is scheduled for June 10-14, 2026. Learn more at  https://sunvalleyjoysummit.com/.