Agents of Transformation with Jeremy Schewe: Grief as a Pilgrimage

I met Jeremy Schewe (pronounced Shave-ie) in December 2024 at the Stewardship Summit for Asheville’s hurricane recovery. He was leading our large group in an Irish song, a rollicking round, that made us feel like we were in a rowdy pub. When we spoke the next day, I learned that Jeremy and I have more in common than our Irish heritage. Like me, Jeremy has experienced the death of a child. His beloved daughter, and only child, Ayla died at 18 from a fentanyl overdose.

And, like me, Jeremy took the time to allow his grief to move through his body and life. His alchemical grief process included 2 Camino pilgrimages during which his life recalibrated and a vision for a new pilgrimage was born. I invited Jeremy to do an Agents of Transformation interview with me because I feel his story contains a map that can help all of us during this time of personal and collective losses resulting from natural disasters and systems collapse.

Jeremy's background prepared him well for this calling; he received a college-prep high school education with the Jesuits at Cincinnati’s St. Xavier High School and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Warren Wilson College. Jeremy’s ecological work and travels have enabled him to live near, study, and absorb the stories and mysteries surrounding many prehistoric sites such as Neolithic megaliths in Europe, Early and Middle Woodland period ceremonial sites in North America, and Classic Period Mayan sites in Central America. As the founder and creative director of Inchanted Journeys, Jeremy has been leading international sacred site retreats, socio-economic service trips, and conservation-based eco-adventures for over 11 years.

We start the interview with Jeremy sharing how he leaned into his grief in the first months of his loss, supported by his community. And then Jeremy shares his experience of the two Camino pilgrimages that helped heal his heart---and the new Irish pilgrimage he is reviving.

May we all find community as we (in the words of Ram Dass) "walk each other home."

here’s the link to the video: https://youtu.be/GxB_y3D_AvM

To learn more about Jeremy and the community he has created, here’s his website. https://www.inchantedjourneys.com/jeremy-schewe Here’s a short documentary about the ancient Irish pilgrimage, Sleigh Assail or The Way of the Sun, that Jeremy is reviving. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPzF27v_uOc For those in western NC, I’ve attended one of the Wheel of the Year ceremonies he offers and it was wonderful. I highly recommend checking out this amazing community!

And here are Jeremy's 2025 Ireland trips:

Melody LeBaron