Our story.
Hi! I am Andi.
My personal mission is to continuously spread little doses of love and kindness to anyone else who is left behind after suicide.
In October 2022, I lost my beloved husband Joel to suicide, and my world crumbled in an instant. With my heart shattered into a gazillion pieces and unsure how to go on without him, life felt completely… unbearable and unimaginable. The grief, trauma, and emotional chaos I went through was unlike anything I had ever experienced. Coping didn’t even seem like a viable option without my partner. Our community was devastated and our family was broken.
Within weeks after Joel’s passing, I went searching for the meaning of it all. I shut down our home and surfboard factory in the Bay Area, and I embarked on a journey around the world to find myself and my soulmate.
I was so lost and alone in my grief.
After months of wandering, The Universe guided me back to the beautiful Mexican beaches where Joel and I often snuck away unwind from our stressful life in the Bay Area. It was here that we were married at sea alongside breaching whales on February 22, 2222. It’s in these waters, that we both loved to surf, dive, and swim.
I now call Punta Mita my home and he is definitely here with me. My first year here was the darkest of my life; I faced every emotion imaginable as I cried and screamed at Mother Ocean daily. How did this happen?! What did I miss?! I went deep inside my soul to figure out how to live my life again without him. I started focusing on a mantra that got me through my deep waves of grief…
“Turn Pain into Purpose, Andi.”
OUR FIRST TRIP TO PUNTA MITA
OCT 2021
Now, I invite you to see for yourself how this magical place has helped me heal.
These were some of Joel’s favorite surf spots and this is where I learned to surf myself. Bear with me as I attempt to pay forward the life lessons I have learned here that have shown me my own inner flame again. I am honored to share with you some of the tools, modalities, and people who have held me up. I promise to hold space for you, wrap my arms around you, and provide a life-changing experience here in Mexico.
I offer these retreats in honor of my husband’s unwavering kindness and huge smile that would light up a room. I am humbled that I get to continue to spread the love he showed so many. There is healing in paying his legacy forward and I will continue to “fly the hawk” in all that I do.
Joel is with me every single day with every step forward I take in my own journey. His continued love for this place, her people, and these waves keep him close by and he is always encouraging me to share it with others in his absence. While I will never stop missing him, there is comfort in knowing that he continues with me and that he would be so proud of the work we are doing at The Light Within retreats.
El siempre sigue conmigo.
Andi Zemenick
CEO & Master Coach
Platinum Coaching Group | The Light Within Retreats
Follow me on social.
