Her Hike: A Memoir

Richard's spiral before his tragic death was detailed on the front-page of The New York Times. But Richard's story-indeed, his whole life-deserves so much more than a newspaper article. What happened to Richard is sadly familiar to too many families. In Her Hike, Jessica Chenard tells her story as Richard's sister, the lesser known one that society rarely hears, in which life continues after the online comments stop and the cameras and reporters go away.

Her Hike is the story of Chenard's efforts to heal after the loss of her brother, Richard. Over the course of a decade, Chenard has coped with his death by hiking different mountains, from the Blue Ridge in Virginia to the Rockies in Montana.

Miraculously, Richard's love for nature remained unchanged during his battle with a prescription drug addiction. This passion gave Chenard a true north, a direction to go after Richard's passing. Shedding light on how to hold onto hope, Chenard invites other women to hike alongside her and start their own journeys summiting mountains.

Chenard brings all her grief to the mountains, and with each step she takes along a trail, the mountains take a piece of her burden and help carry the weight. The mountains heal, and Her Hike is meant to encourage others to begin bringing their own story to the mountains.