Our Story

Michele Bell, author of A Journey of Unconditional Love, which recounts her experience caring for a child with cancer, is hosting the first annual Free Spirit Holistic Expo from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 2 at Fable: From Farm to Table, in Ossining. The expo will raise money for her proposed creation of a “Zen-Tuary” for critically ill children.

Among the expert speakers at the expo will be Gary Robusto, a paranormal investigator and field researcher who has been featured on the History Channel. There will also be one-of-a-kind exhibitors, Farmaste Yoga & Dance, psychic healers, CBD and doTerra products, intuitive art, healing circles, food and music. Guests should bring a yoga mat and water.

One goal of the event is to raise awareness of the holistic approaches to cancer that Bell researched while caring for her son Nicky. “These therapies were successful in extending Nicky’s prognosis, allowing him an additional three years to celebrate life, travel and experience the joys of teenhood,” she says.

A sanctuary based on these holistic approaches would help children like Nicky and their families, she says. “The Zen-Tuary would be the first of its kind—a special place where critically ill children will be welcomed to engage, share and escape to experience the joys of childhood they so deserve.”

According to the National Cancer Institute, some 15,270 children and adolescents ages 19 and younger were diagnosed with cancer in 2017, and 1,790 died of the disease. “Every day, 43 children are diagnosed with cancer,” Bell says. “One out of eight will not survive.”

She says she hopes that the Free Spirit Holistic Expo will help bring the Zen-Tuary from concept to reality, and that the expo will be “a sacred space where we welcome the community to embrace our philosophy and introduce all who attend to my discoveries and many of the holistic therapies firsthand.”