Join my Women, Food & Forgiveness Academy
Imagine no longer needing food to get through a difficult day.
Imagine keeping your promises to yourself because you know you're worth it.
Imagine following your intuition instead of your cravings.
Imagine realizing that your age-old shame was never your enemy.
Imagine looking in the mirror and seeing a woman worthy of love and care.
This is the Heroine's Journey of transformation that awaits you inside the Women, Food & Forgiveness Academy.
The Academy helped Sandy end her forever war with her body and love the woman she sees in the mirror.
"I am a completely different person than I was when I started. It is no longer about what the scale says to me, it's about loving myself as I am."
—Sandy D., Minneapolis, MN
Have you been trying to get rid of your shame by controlling your food and fighting your body?
And then feeling devastated when you can't?
Here’s what I've learned from working with so many women just like you:
Your deepest shame is the gateway to your deepest self-love.
Imagine that a year from now, you could look back at every binge, every failed diet, every time you stood at the mirror hating yourself ... and say thank you.
That’s the moment when the failures of your past become your stepping stones to freedom.
And that’s the Heroine's Journey you can start right away.
Let's talk.
After completing the Academy Leslie now laughs at the ordeals that taught her to love herself as never before.
"There was so much love and cheerleading that I finally got myself to say, 'Even if I love myself just a smidge, can I carry on with just that smidge?' You just helped me hold on."
—Leslie I., Harwich, MA
I’m Marcella Friel, a lifelong student of forgiveness and feminine wisdom.
Since 2014 I've watched women like you discover that the struggles you've most wanted to escape often became the doorway to your deepest healing.
This is the spirit in which I welcome you: one heroine to another, remembering who we are, together.
—Mary Sheila Gonnella, Occidental Nutrition
Here are the Four Initiations that make up your 12-month Heroine’s Journey path:
Awakening to the truth beneath the struggle
You recognize that your food and body struggles are not a failure of willpower but a call toward deeper self-knowledge.
You just can't do one more diet or sign up for one more gym membership.
Something inside you is asking for more.
Crossing the threshold into healing
With support and guidance, you begin the inner work of releasing the shame and self-rejection that have defined your life for years.
Insights unfold as your journey takes shape.
Getting glimpses of genuine freedom
At this stage you look, courageously and kindly, at the wounds beneath the patterns.
You meet your long-unmet needs with the tenderness and respect they deserve.
As forgiveness dawns, you begin remembering who you truly are.
Coming home to yourself
As you stabilize in your self-trust, you recognize yourself as a woman you can count on—the principal virtue of a heroine who has returned home to herself.
Food becomes nourishment, and your body becomes a place of belonging.
In the Academy Beth made peace with her bingeing and learned that she could trust her inner knowing.
"If you're ready to focus on healing yourself at a deeper level so that better food habits can follow, then the Academy is an amazing place."
—Beth D., Sonoma, CA
When you join the Women, Food & Forgiveness Academy, you’re saying yes to the woman you seek to become.
Here’s what’s included in your tuition:
This 12-month curriculum that you purchase for life includes:
Exclusive audio teachings from Marcella found nowhere else
Journal practices that ignite your deepest truth
Weekly exercises to put your learnings into practice
Resources to deepen your understanding
Join Marcella twice monthly for
Intuitive coaching and powerful group process
Real-time guidance on your personal challenges
Breakthrough moments that shift patterns you've carried for years
Many women say this alone is worth the investment.
Twice-monthly silent work periods led by senior students in the Academy.
Each session includes parallel co-study time with your sister heroines where you can journal, reflect, or tap, with optional sharing and connection afterward.
This is where insight becomes real change.
Access to our private online space with:
Call recordings
Current announcements
An ever-growing resource library
Daily connection, support, witnessing, and encouragement from your sisters.
Feeling called to this journey? Take the next step forward by booking a call with me.
Listen to her words of guidance and humor for women like you who are thinking about joining the Academy.
"If you're ready to do some really hard work to become whole again, there's no question you should join the Academy. Don't even think twice about it, just join."
—Barb B., Foster City, CA
I've seen it transform the lives of thousands of women just like you.
I invite you to attend, participate, and sincerely engage with the practices of this program during your first month in the Academy.
If you decide within your first 30 days that the Academy is not the right fit, I will cancel your remaining payments.
No questions asked, and no hard feelings.
Feeling drawn to join but nervous about the commitment?
Let me answer your questions and help you make an aligned decision.
—Jill M., Mill Valley, CA
Here are the deets you need to know.
Feeling interested, but still trying to decide?
Let's talk about the specifics of your situation and explore together if the Academy is a fit for you.
Honestly? I can't answer that question for you.
But here's what can:
Listen to the stories on this page of the women who have completed the Academy. If they can do it, chances are you can, too.
If you’re ready to go deep and stick with it, the transformation you’ll experience will be more than worth it.
And if you decide, within the first 30 days of wholehearted participation, that the Academy is not for you, you can cancel your subscription, no questions asked.
Healing takes time, especially when you’re addressing the deep spiritual and somatic roots of food behaviors.
This year-long journey allows you to fully integrate the lessons, tools, and strategies into your life for lasting change.
EFT (also called Emotional Freedom Techniques, or "Tapping") is a gentle, powerful self-help tool that reduces the negative emotional impact of memories and incidents that trigger stress.
Some have called Tapping "emotional acupuncture," as it involves fingertip tapping on points that are at or near the end of certain acupuncture meridians.
The tapping acts as a circuit-breaker by disrupting the stress signals that link negative emotions to a particular experience.
If you'd like to deep-dive into Tapping to heal your food and body-love struggles, pick up your copy of my book "Tap, Taste, Heal: Use Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) to Eat Joyfully and Love Your Body," available everywhere books are sold.
The Heroine's Journey is an archetypal journey of healing and transformation. It’s designed to guide you through a process of reclaiming your life and your power.
The stages of the Heroine's Journey include:
The Crisis/Crossroads: This is the moment when you recognize that the life you’re living is no longer serving you, and a change is necessary. It’s the point where you decide to stop relying on dieting or external validation and start prioritizing your own healing.
The Call to Healing: At this stage, you're invited to embark on a journey of self-discovery and transformation. You'll learn to prioritize self-care beyond dieting and reclaim your body and spirit from the oppressive cycle of negative thoughts and behaviors that have held you back.
The Resistance to the Call: As with any deep change, resistance often arises. You'll face inner conflicts, fears, and doubts as you work through the barriers that have prevented you from embracing your true self. In this phase, we will work together to address the fears, negative beliefs, and emotional blocks that have kept you stuck.
Meeting the Mentor: Along the way, you’ll connect with your inner wisdom and receive guidance from the mentor within. This stage helps you tap into your intuition, enabling you to make empowered choices that align with your deepest needs and desires.
The Adventure: In this stage, the Heroine encounters tests, temptations, enemies, and allies. You’ll face the real-life challenges that arise as you move forward, but you’ll also learn the tools to work through these challenges—like releasing and rewriting the negative beliefs that have held you back. You’ll also practice embracing feelings instead of turning to food for comfort.
Descending into the Abyss: The Heroine’s descent into the abyss represents the moments of deep emotional reckoning, where she confronts the most difficult parts of her journey. Here, you will experience the profound release of old wounds, and, through this, you will receive the Gift of the Goddess—unconditional self-love that frees you from your emotional and physical burdens.
The Return: After the transformation, the Heroine drinks from the Elixir of Life, a symbol of the healing and wisdom gained through the journey. In the Return, you emerge as a transformed woman, ready to embrace a life of true nourishment, self-love, and joy. You are now equipped to create new habits and practices that honor your body and spirit, including learning to appreciate meal planning and home cooking as an act of self-love.
Carrying the Message: In the final stage, you will return to your world as a woman who is deeply changed and grounded in self-love, ready to carry the message of healing to others. The example you set inspires other Heroines to embark on their own journeys, just as you did.
The Heroine's Journey is about more than just releasing old patterns. It’s about embracing your true essence and stepping into the fullest version of yourself, ready to live a life of emotional freedom and authentic joy.
Through this transformative process, you will break free from emotional eating, heal old wounds, and embrace a life that honors your true worth.
Yes! You’ll have monthly Mentorship Calls with me, where I provide present-time teaching, answer your questions, and offer you a "healing seat" if necessary.
You can also opt for additional 1:1 sessions as bonus packages if you desire more personalized support.
No worries! The Academy is designed for you to go at your own pace, and all materials are accessible throughout the 12 months.
A great way to get caught up when you feel behind is to join the Study Hall calls that are held twice-monthly.
In these calls you'll work on the curriculum in silent solidarity with your sister classmates and share insights about what you learned.
In short, you can revisit any lesson whenever you need, and the supportive community is always there to keep you motivated.
I’m committed to your healing and transformation, and I want you to feel fully supported every step of the way.
If, within your first 30 days, you feel that the course isn’t resonating with you or isn’t meeting your expectations, simply reach out to me to cancel your subscription. No hard feelings, no questions asked. My priority is that you feel confident, supported, and empowered on your journey.
I truly believe in the power of this work, and I want to ensure that you have the experience you deserve. If it’s not the right time or fit for you, I want you to feel comfortable with your decision.
Feeling out of control after her worst binge, Georgia found a new perspective that happened to be the answer she needed.
"Long story short, I would say, just go for it. If you keep waiting for the next best thing, I don't know that's gonna come."
—Georgia M., Floyd, VA
A women’s forgiveness and food freedom program
Every heroine reaches a moment when she knows: the path she’s been walking can’t take her where she longs to go.
Join a circle of women who have tossed the diet books in the trash and discovered a self-love they only dreamed was possible.
Step inside the Women, Food & Forgiveness Academy and begin the pilgrimage home to yourself.