Meet Jessamyn Turgesen | Healing Facilitator, Sobriety Mentor & Creator of The Reclamation Bar

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessamyn Turgesen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessamyn, what’s the most important thing you’ve done for your children?
What a great question!

I believe that the most important thing I have done as a mother in terms of impacting my children is choosing my healing, daily.
There is nothing more powerful that we can offer the people within our circle of influence, especially those that are closest to us, than choosing to walk a path toward our own healing and personal freedom. So much of my work/purpose is about self-healing and that is because I am absolutely convinced that when we learn to show up for ourselves with compassion and devotion, we can extend a greater capacity for healthy relating into the world. In this way, our individual freedom influences our collective freedom. In order to cultivate that kind of personal responsibility within my children, I need to exemplify it through my own life. Living a life of personal integrity and heart-led determination is the kind of legacy I want to leave behind. Our own health and wellness has a ripple effect on our circle of influence. We never know exactly how we impact people, right? I like to help teach my children that the intention of leaving people in a better space than they were in before we interacted with them is a noble pursuit worth aiming for.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am most definitely a passion-led entrepreneur who is guided by using my training/certifications alongside my own personal story to be of service to people who are looking for the kind of support my work offers. I am incredibly proud of my tenacity. I am a single mom of three kids and although it isn’t always easy finding my way in this world of self-employment, I am deeply devoted to my purpose – which is to help create spaces of safety, hope & healing to an often hurting & fractured world. So when I falter, I take that as a cue to pivot instead of giving up completely on the dreams that have been planted within.
I have been working within the healing arts world for over 17 years now and this has led me to become certified in coaching, somatic therapy modalities and beyond.
I am also living an alcohol free life for the past 2 1/2 years and this has led me to weave together my trainings and services to offer mentorship and coaching in a framework I call Somatic Sobriety along with launching my new venture – The Reclamation Bar where the mission is to bring Alcohol Free options to social gatherings and beyond throughout the Valley. I believe in the power of creating conscious community and intentional relating in our world and that is the driving force behind The Reclamation Bar.
I am most excited about the possibility for The Reclamation Bar. I believe our culture is hungry for presence and people are becoming more and more conscious of the role that alcohol plays in our lives. There is a movement happening that is generating greater curiosity about the reasons we drink and what the alternatives to drinking alcohol are. The Reclamation Bar is born from the desire to cultivate a more developed and normalized conversation around the role of alcohol in our society and to create connective, inspiring events that help demonstrate that the presence of alcohol is not needed at adult social settings in order to have a fun, memorable & connective experiences together.
I am learning so many valuable lessons as I venture further into this start-up and I am determined to use all of the teachings to solidify the purpose and presence of The Reclamation Bar.
Wether people are just starting to get curious about exploring a new relationship with alcohol to where they want to reclaim one night away from it’s influence in their social adventures or if people are on the journey of a lifetime of reclamation within the work of sobriety & recovery – The Reclamation Bar is a place where we get to practice reclaiming the art of making social events meaningful by offering our full presence to the moments without alteration.
Plus, I love the energy of discovery and this movement of elevated Alcohol-Free beverages is such a new category we are getting to explore together as a society which is super exciting! There are so many possibilities!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
What a fun question.

Let’s see. We will definitely be visiting Luana’s for coffee and breakfast pizza as many days of that week as possible. Not only because the food and coffee is fantastic but the owner and employees are pure gold.
For dinner, we are gonna rotate between Dough Bird (because the butterscotch cake is TO DIE FOR), Paco’s Tacos, Hula’s, and Fez.
I am a big fan of the outdoors, so I will be taking my bestie on lots of hikes. We will for sure hit up Papago Mountain, North Mountain, Lookout Mountain, South Mountain, A-Mountain and Camelback Mountain if we are feeling feisty.
I also am a sucker for sunset walks down by the water at Tempe Town Lake so we will try to fit in as many of those as possible because honestly who ever tires of those Arizona Skies?
I will most likely take them out to the Salt River – more specifically Coon’s Bluff area because it is one of my most treasured sacred spaces to visit and only the really special ones get to go with me there.
I’d also love to make a concert at The Van Buren one of the nights they are here because live music is life, of course. I also really hope they visit on the one weekend per month that HomeBase hosts their open mic nights because that spoken word poetry is on FIRE.
Other than that it is a toss up between dancing somewhere fun like The Deuce or doing mini bowling at Champagne Lanes or playing a mean game of ping pong at Culinary Dropout in Tempe.
A week is never long enough with my bestie. 🙂

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
So many people deserve a shoutout and recognition in my story. I am made up of all the people who have influenced me. I have an incredible village of support through family and close friends. Without their love & encouragement, I would be having a much harder time finding my way in this one wild life.
In regards to my journey with The Reclamation Bar, I would have to recognize my mentor Chris Marshall from Sans Bar in Austin Texas who has played a vital role in helping me stay true to my vision and offering practical wisdom on helping to bring an Alcohol Free Pop-Up Bar to the Valley of the Sun! He is a pioneer in this whole movement of Alcohol Free Bars. His integrity and experiential knowledge continues to be instrumental in helping me make my way, step by intentional step.

Website: www.thereclamationbar.com (under construction) www.jessamynsara.com

Instagram: @thereclamationbar @jessamynsara

Image Credits
Winona Grey (for first photo)