Our Story
What Began as Five Questions Became a Way Forward.
The Story Behind Grace Trail
There are seasons in every life when the path forward isn't clear.
Grace Trail began during one of those seasons—not as a program or a plan, but as one mother's search for a way to keep moving forward.
What started as a deeply personal practice of walking, reflection, and honest questions became something others recognized in their own lives.
This is the story of how Grace Trail came to be.
A Practice Takes Shape
What began as five questions slowly became a rhythm Anne returned to each day.
While her son was serving in combat in Afghanistan and navigating the difficult journey home, Anne found herself searching for a way to move through uncertainty rather than simply endure it. She began returning to five simple questions—not because they offered easy answers, but because they gave her somewhere to place her fear.
As the questions became part of her daily practice, she noticed something unexpected: the answers rarely came while she was trying to think. They came while she was walking.
"Where can people go to walk, reflect, and find their footing during hard seasons of life?"
The Walk Became the Trail
Five handwritten questions on ocean stones transformed a daily walk into a practice.
As Anne continued walking the Plymouth waterfront, the questions became inseparable from the path itself. She began writing each one onto a handwritten stone and placing it where it had become meaningful in her own journey.
As her husband joined her walks, the questions became a language they could return to together—creating space for honest conversation, one step at a time.
Others Began Walking
People began finding themselves in the questions.
Soon, neighbors, friends, and visitors began stopping to read the handwritten stones, reflect, and return again.
What had begun as Anne's personal practice gradually became something shared. People weren't gathering because someone organized them. They came because the questions resonated with their own lives.
As conversations unfolded along the path, Anne realized the questions weren't telling people what to think—they were creating space for people to discover what was already within themselves.
From Temporary Stones to a Permanent Trail
Inspired by the community's response, the Town of Plymouth helped make the Trail permanent.
The Town of Plymouth recognized Grace Trail as a cherished community asset and partnered with Anne to establish the first permanent Grace Trail along Plymouth Harbor.
Through the generosity, craftsmanship, and stewardship of local partners, the original handwritten stones evolved into beautifully engraved granite markers—ensuring the questions, and the experience they created, would continue welcoming others for generations to come.
Our Story Continues
What began along the Plymouth waterfront continues to evolve as Grace Trail reaches more people, places, and communities.
Today, the five questions can be experienced through permanent Grace Trails, guided experiences, adaptable Trail Kits®, digital walks, and Anne's book—making the practice more accessible and helping people find their footing wherever life meets them.
Whether experienced outdoors, in healthcare settings, schools, workplaces, or everyday life, each expression reflects the people and place it serves while sharing the same invitation: to slow down, reconnect—with ourselves, with one another, and with the world around us.
More than a destination, Grace Trail has become a living practice that communities continue to embrace—a place where reflection becomes conversation, conversation strengthens connection, and connection quietly ripples outward, one person, one walk, and one community at a time.
Coming Full Circle
The journey that inspired Grace Trail continues to shape where it grows today.
Years after first walking into the VA seeking help for her son, Anne returned with something shaped by that very journey.
Today, the first Grace Trail within the Department of Veterans Affairs is taking root at the VA Boston Healthcare System's Brockton campus for Fall 2026 Installation.
For Anne, this more than another installation. It is a reminder that some of life's most difficult experiences can become the beginning of something that helps others.
Take the Next Step
Whether you're looking to experience Grace Trail, bring it to your community, or learn more about Anne's journey, we'd love to help you take the next step.
