There are moments in our lives when we can look back and see that the seeds of our future had already been planted, even though we did not yet recognize them yet. I have been many women over my lifetime that became who I am today.

For me, those seeds were planted in my childhood growing up in the very multicultural community of Asbury Park.

I grew up in a family where things didn’t come easy. Those experiences shaped me in many ways. They taught me responsibility, resilience, and compassion, but they also cultivated a fierce independence.

I became the girl who wanted to do everything society suggested I couldn’t or shouldn’t do. At the same time, I also tried to fit the expectations placed upon women—to nurture, to care for others, to become the housewife I believed I was supposed to be. Throughout those years, books became my companions, nurturing my curiosity and reminding me there was always more to learn about the world and about myself.

At forty-four, while working at a university, I realized something I had quietly believed was no longer possible: I could return to college and earn the bachelor’s degree I had always dreamed of completing.

That decision changed my life.

While studying Women’s Studies alongside psychology, I began to see the invisible cultural and societal messages that shape women’s lives from childhood onward. I realized how often women are taught to care for everyone except themselves, to minimize their voices, and to carry expectations that were never truly theirs to begin with.

It was there that the first roots of Sacred Roots were planted.

The vision continued to grow through graduate school after retirement as an administrator in Collegiate Athletics, and as I started my work as a mental health counselor. As I entered another season of life, I became increasingly aware of how many people’s, especially women’s, experiences remain unspoken, misunderstood, or dismissed. I realized that healing was more than services—that people need places where they can be fully seen, deeply heard, and genuinely understood.

Sacred Roots was born from that realization.

It is my hope that Sacred Roots becomes more than a counseling and wellness space.

I hope it becomes a community where wisdom is shared across generations.

A place where healing happens not only through therapy and wellness practices, but through relationships, belonging, and compassionate community.

Most of all, I hope every person who walks through these doors knows this:

You are seen.

You are heard.

You belong here.

If Sacred Roots can offer that to even one human, one family, one generation at a time, then the dream that first took root so many years ago will continue to grow far beyond me.

With gratitude,

Mary Previte

Sacred Roots Healing & Support Center