the author of my debut memoir: Her Hike. A writer of purposeful adventures, healing and legacies; when I hike and when I write, purpose and creativity pour back in and refresh me. Everything resets and I relax knowing that I am answering to my calling of writing our story.
I have written my own story of what got me to the mountains and how I believe that the mountains can help heal part of your story and empower you too. I am the founder of Her Hike Collective, an all women's hiking community. You can find me hosting the group's quarterly hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
I spent a decade living it. I hiked to heal from tragedy which also later helped grow and nurture a beautiful life. Nature and people played a large role in nurturing my love for the mountains, the most significant one being my brother. After we tragically lost him, I was left with only the knowledge of his love for nature and hiking. This enabled and inspired me. His love for the outdoors gave me a direction to go in - my true north - and I made hiking a part of my lifestyle. Ultimately, making this book my calling.
hiking and nature can heal. At times these words felt as if my body was physically begging me to release them, hoping that you would read them one day and that they'd help you. Inspire you. When you go through a hard season or a tragedy hiking and nature could be a lifeline for you - like it was for me. Call it intuition but ultimately I believe that this story is written for you.
journeyed on to keep my brother Richard's memory alive and to heal from the loss of him. Over the course of a decade, I did my coping hiking different mountains - from the Blue Ridge in Virginia to the Rocky Mountains in Montana. Shedding light on how to hold onto hope, this is my story about how I heal. I take you with me as I invite other women to hike alongside me and to start their own journeys summiting mountains through my hiking group, Her Hike Collective. You will be able to find solace in nature and to heal from some of your own stories.
well known through a front-page article in The New York Times, titled: "Drowned in A Sea of Prescriptions," written by Alan Schwarz. It was published on February 3rd, 2013. But Richard's story - his life - deserves so much more. That is why, one day, I began writing. This is how I introduce the world to the other side of Richard. How, picking up the pieces, I dedicate my words to showing who he truly was. Remembering him before the pills, I remember the Richard that he could not.
The only part of Richard that did not change, during his battle with a prescription drug addiction, was miraculously his love for nature. I believe that stayed intact to be a lifeline for me. It gave me a true North, a direction to go in, after he passed away.
and with each step I took along a trail the mountains took a piece off and carried some of the weight for me.
This is my story, the lesser known story that society rarely hears. Where life continued after the online comments stopped and the cameras and reporters went away.
The mountains healed me and I believe that Her Hike is meant to encourage others to begin bringing their own story to the mountains.
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