A house in the Hudson Valley is said to be filled with the magical healing power of a Rock and Roll icon.

They say home is where the heart is. If that's true, the power of love is certainly evident in a quiet house hidden in Ulster County. The former retreat of David Bowie was the focus of a recent interview with the musician's widow. After 24 years of marriage, Iman found herself pained to have to visit the couple's retreat near Woodstock. The home was where Bowie recorded his final album, and where he and his wife spent their most intimate moments together.

Bowie had a reputation for being very private, but those who live near the Ulster County home found the rock star to be pleasant and warm. The singer and his wife could be spotted around town chatting up neighbors and relaxing with his family at local restaurants. Bowie, who had a long fear of driving, finally got behind the wheel for the first time in Ulster County and, according to realtor.com, was frequently seen cruising around town. Because the Woodstock house was the family's main "home," it was there that Iman spread her husband's ashes.

Iman recently told Vogue that it was painful for her to be at the house after her husband died because when she was there she was always surrounded with sadness. Bowie's widow shared the last memory of her family all together at the home. It was Thanksgiving and everyone was there, including their teenage daughter, Bowie's son from a previous marriage, and his daughter-in-law.

Because the house was so hard to be in, Iman found herself counting the hours before she could leave. But during the global pandemic, she found herself trapped in the last place she wanted to be. In March of last year, like many New Yorkers, Iman fled her West Village home and escaped to the safety of the Hudson Valley.

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As we all know, the "two-week" quarantine turned into months of isolation. For Iman, the lockdown was even more traumatic because she was trapped in a house that held so many memories. Those memories, however, turned out to be just what she needed to get through such a difficult time.

Being here meant I couldn’t escape how I felt. I had to sit with my grief, confront it, go through it. And that’s what this place did for me. It literally saved me.

Iman now spends her time walking in the woods of Ulster County near her home. She even performs a ritual that her late husband used to enjoy. Bowie would stack rocks on top of each other, claiming it was a way for people to navigate unknown places during ancient times. The metaphor for what Iman has been going through since her husband's grief has not been lost on her. Those who travel through the woods in the Catskills may find stacks of rocks that Iman makes to remind herself of her husband and continue to "find her way."

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