THE OTHER MOTHER
A Mother’s Day Experience for Childless, Non-Biological Mothers
A farm to table brunch and intimate circle for childless women who love deeply, mother differently, and deserve to be celebrated too.
Mother’s Day wasn’t designed with you in mind.
Maybe you're a mother to a stepchild, an animal, a plant, a chosen family, babies who didn't stay or you couldn’t keep, or simply another human who needed someone to show up for them the way a mother does.
Maybe you carry a grief that feels cyclic, that resurfaces on holidays, in quiet moments, in the spaces between. Or maybe you’ve moved through the grief and simply want to be in a room with women who understand the particular tenderness of loving in this way.
Maybe Mother’s Day brings up anger at a world that pours celebration onto one kind of mother and leaves the rest of us to navigate the day alone. Maybe you want to skip it entirely.
Either way, you belong here.
The world has a narrow definition of motherhood. This circle doesn’t.
The Other Mother was created for every woman the traditional Mother’s Day forgets.
What is The Other Mother?
The Other Mother is an intentionally intimate experience for childless women who identify as mothers in non-biological ways. Set at The Sanctuary in Northfield, Vermont, we will gather on Mother’s Day itself not to avoid the day, but to reclaim it.
You’ll share a farm to table brunch, join in circle, and leave with something real: community, a full belly, and a living reminder of what you tended to today.
Space is intentionally held for 10 women. Once it’s full, it’s full.
This experience is for you if…
You are a mother in your heart, your love, and your life but not through biological birth.
You identify as a mother in a way the world doesn't always celebrate - stepmother, animal mother, chosen family mother, earth mother, a mother to babies who didn't stay or you couldn't keep, or simply someone who loves like one.
Mother’s Day brings up grief, longing, anger, or a desire to simply disappear for the day.
You’re craving community with women who truly get it - not sympathy, but solidarity.
You want to create a positive, nourishing memory around a day that has historically been hard.
You’re ready to be seen, witnessed, and celebrated exactly as you are.
You may or may not be actively grieving - both are welcome here.
Imagine this Mother’s Day…
You walk into a beautiful space and immediately feel like you belong. The table is set, the food is lovingly made and smells absolutely incredible, and the women around you know, without explanation, exactly what this day can feel like.
You share a meal. You speak and are truly heard. You leave with new friends, a full heart, and a small pot of soil with a seed and a letter tucked inside - a reminder of what you planted in yourself today.
You drive home feeling something you maybe didn’t expect: Joy. Relief. Hope.
That is what this experience is designed to give you.
What We'll Explore Together
♥ Welcome & Arrival - Settle in, receive a welcome drink, and ease into the space at your own pace.
♥ Opening Circle - A grounded, gentle opening. You’ll be introduced to the space, the intention of the day, and each other.
♥ Farm to Table Brunch - A lovingly prepared, seasonal meal made from locally sourced ingredients from 1000 Stone Farm. The table is where community begins.
♥ Guided Circle - The heart of the experience. A facilitated, held conversation about identity, grief, love, and what it means to mother in the way that is yours.
♥ Closing Ritual - Plant a seed. Write a letter to yourself. Tuck it into the soil and take it home. Watch it grow.
♥ Send-Off - A closing word, a parting gift, and the beginning of something that doesn’t end when you walk out the door.
What’s Included:
A wholehearted three hour in-person experience at The Sanctuary in Northfield, Vermont
Farm to table gluten-free brunch prepared for you with love by Sanctuary Community Member and Farmer Chef, Astrid O’Connor 💙
Intimate gathering of no more than 10 women
Facilitated opening and closing circles
A heartfelt closing ritual
A small parting gift to take home
More Than One Day
The Other Mother began as a vision for something ongoing, a gathering for childless women who mother in all the ways that don’t fit neatly into a greeting card. Women who are mothers to stepchildren, animals, plants, chosen family, babies who didn't stay or you couldn't keep, or any human, creature, or thing other than a child.
As life’s journey enlightens us, grief can feel cyclic and unending. This is exactly why this circle is open to childless women who are actively grieving, childless women who have found peace, and everyone in between.
The frequency and shape of future gatherings will be decided together by the women in the room. If you attend, you have a voice in what this becomes.
This Mother’s Day gathering is where it begins. The women in this room become the founding circle.
Sunday, May 10th from 11:00am-2:00pm
at The Sanctuary in Northfield, VT
Early Bird: $75 available through May 3rd
Regular: $90 - May 4th through May 8th
Investment
Registration closes Friday, May 8th in order for our chef to prepare accordingly with love.
About Your Guide
Tara Cariano is a mother to unborn children and also to a wild and loving black cat named Kylo Ren. She is also a childless stepmom, therapist, meditation guide, yoga teacher, liminal space holder, and the founder of The Sanctuary - a community wellness space in Northfield, Vermont dedicated to connection, healing, and holistic care. Tara brings warmth, lived experience, and a deep commitment to holding space for the parts of us that don’t always get a seat at the table.
The Other Mother came from Tara’s own grief and her own reclaiming. This one is personal.
You don’t have to spend Mother’s Day feeling forgotten.
Come to the table. Be witnessed. Help build something that lasts.