It was a treat getting to know Adriana at the Liz Gilbert and Tererai Trent workshop in 2024 and I appreciated her vulnerability in this post. Liz and Tererai are teaching their Awakening Magic workshop once again, this time in Baja, February 9-14.
A little over a year ago, I was at the MEA campus in Santa Fe, taking part in the extraordinary workshop with Tererai Trent and Liz Gilbert. I felt insecure for being the only foreigner and not having perfect English – which I confessed to the group right at the first meeting. Everyone was kind and welcoming, especially Liz, who on more than one occasion told me how courageous I was for being there. On the last day, she sat next to me during breakfast and, as we said goodbye, kissed me on the head and repeated once again that I was very brave.
Four months later, I needed that same courage to shave the head Liz had kissed, when my hair began to fall out because of chemotherapy. I went to Santa Fe knowing that, upon my return, I would need surgery to find out why two lymph nodes in my abdomen were larger than normal, as shown on a routine ultrasound. I was convinced it was nothing serious – I had no symptoms, and all the other exams were perfect.
But I ended up discovering a non-Hodgkin lymphoma that needed to be treated at the beginning of 2026, with chemotherapy that started the day after my birthday. I couldn’t join the online MEA gatherings with my peers, but I often thought of what I learned, the people I met, and the deep conversations we had during those unforgettable five days. All of that is part of the repertoire I’ll draw from to reinterpret my experience with cancer – from something painful into something meaningful and even beautiful. Yet not as beautiful as this new chapter that begins now, a week after receiving the news that I’m in remission.
An illness like this can be one of many “catalysts” that provoke a transition in midlife. If we’re unprepared, the tidal wave can swallow us whole – but if we are, we can navigate it with some grace and reach a better shore. I’m deeply grateful to Liz, Tererai, Chip, and the entire MEA team for helping me strengthen the tools I needed to make this crossing with the lightness and dignity I managed to sustain. In the end, Liz was right: I truly am very brave.
-Adriana
Adriana Haas is a journalist, writer, and researcher on women’s aging. She has published two books on the subject and is turning her transition through cancer into her third. She will complete her postgraduate degree in Integral Care for Mature Women at the end of this year – and will go on to live many other adventures.