In their own words
What Participants Say After the Programme
These are honest accounts — some of them difficult to read, because the conversations themselves were not easy. That is the point.
Back to HomeParticipant feedback
Voices from the Workshop Room
Yap Lay Kuan
Petaling Jaya, parent of two
"I have been thinking about having this conversation with my daughter for three years. The workshop did not make it easy — but it made it possible. I had the conversation two weeks after the Sunday session. It went better than I expected."
First Conversation Workshop — April 2025
Mohd Nazri bin Aziz
Shah Alam, retired civil servant
"I was not sure what to expect. I thought it would be someone telling us how to plan for retirement. It was nothing like that. It was much more useful — it was about how to actually sit down with your children and talk. No product. No advice. Just the conversation itself."
First Conversation Workshop — March 2025
Ratha Chandran
Klang, mother of three
"My husband and I both attended the Money Conversations programme. It gave us a shared language — we came out of it talking to each other about things we had not discussed in twenty years. Then, eventually, we talked to our son together. The worksheets were genuinely useful."
Money Conversations Across Generations — January 2025
Tan Poh Eng
Cheras, business owner
"The Family Letter Cohort was ten weeks of uncomfortable work. I mean that kindly. Writing the letter — actually committing things to paper — forced me to figure out what I actually believed about money and family, not just what I thought I believed. I gave the printed binder to my daughter on her thirty-fifth birthday."
Family Letter Cohort — February 2025
Suraya bt. Malek
Subang Jaya, secondary school teacher
"I was the youngest person in my session, at 44. Most of the others were in their fifties. But the conversation deck worked for all of us, regardless of where we were in the process. The facilitator was very good at drawing out the differences without making it feel like a debate."
First Conversation Workshop — April 2025
Lim Hoong Wei
Ampang, father of four
"I attended all four evenings of the Across Generations programme. The third session — about the partner conversation — was the one I did not expect to need. It was also the one that changed things most at home. Worth it for that session alone."
Money Conversations Across Generations — February 2025
In more depth
Three Participant Journeys
Names and identifying details are changed with permission.
The situation
A Parent Who Had Said Nothing for Eleven Years
A father in his early sixties had managed the household finances throughout his marriage and had never discussed them with his two adult children. When he began thinking about what would happen if he could no longer manage things himself, he realised his children had no framework for any of it.
The programme
First Conversation Workshop, then the Cohort
He attended the weekend workshop first, then enrolled in the Family Letter Cohort the following month. Over ten weeks, he worked through what he wanted his family letter to say — what he had decided, what he had not yet decided, and what he wanted his children to understand about both.
What changed
A Written Letter Given at a Family Dinner
At a family dinner in March 2025, he gave each of his children a copy of his completed letter. He says they did not read it that night, but his daughter called him the following weekend and they spoke for two hours. He describes this as the first honest financial conversation they have ever had.
The situation
Two Sisters With Different Expectations
A mother in her late fifties attended the workshop alone, knowing that her two adult daughters had very different assumptions about how the family home and finances would eventually be handled. She was worried that any conversation she started would be interpreted as making a decision she had not yet made.
The programme
Money Conversations Across Generations
She attended the four-session programme the month after her first workshop. The second session — on what adult children need to understand about their parents' situation — gave her a framing she had not considered: that the conversation could begin with her own uncertainty, rather than a position she was defending.
What changed
A Conversation That Opened Rather Than Resolved
She reports having had three separate conversations with her daughters since — the first together, the second two individually. Nothing has been decided. But she says the conversations are now possible in a way they were not before, and that her daughters seem relieved to have been included in the thinking rather than presented with conclusions.
The situation
A Couple Who Disagreed About What to Share
A couple in their mid-fifties wanted to have the household money conversation with their adult son, but disagreed about how much to disclose. The husband wanted to share everything; the wife was concerned this would create anxiety or dependency. They had not resolved it between themselves.
The programme
First Conversation Workshop (Both Attended)
Both attended the same weekend workshop. They had not expected to find the third session — on listening without defending — as directly relevant to their disagreement with each other as it turned out to be. Several of the conversation deck cards became tools they used at home.
What changed
The Partner Conversation First, Then the Son
They spent three weeks working through their own differences before approaching their son together. When they did, they had a shared position — not identical to either of their starting points, but one they had arrived at together. Their son's response, they said, was mostly gratitude that they had thought about it carefully.
Reach us
Contact Willowmark
Address
38 Jalan SS 15/447500 Subang Jaya
Selangor
Our record
By the Numbers
Participants since 2020
Average rating out of 5
Return for a second programme
In operation in Subang Jaya
Klang Valley Adult Learning Network
Member since 2021
Education-Only Commitment
No financial or legal advice — ever
Participant Confidentiality Standard
Signed by all participants and facilitators
Your turn
The Conversation Starts When You Are Ready
You do not need to have any of the answers yet. You just need to be thinking about the questions. Write to us — we will help you find the right place to begin.
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