Life Hikes

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Product Details

Publisher: Many Hats Publishing
Release Date: November 4, 2025
Formats: Paperback, Ebook, Audiobook
ISBN: PB: 978-1-7347917-3-0; EB: 978-1-7347917-4-7; AUD: 978-1-7347917-5-4
Trim: 5.5 x 8.5
Page Count: 174

 

Walking Through Loss to What Comes After

Renée Brown Harmon, MD

A powerful and hopeful essay collection exploring grief, courage, and the healing power of nature.

In October 2018, Dr. Renée Brown Harmon lost her husband, Harvey, to younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease when he was only fifty-eight years old. After Harvey’s passing and nearly a decade of caring for him, Harmon found solace in hiking, nature, and travel—discovering that even when she felt frozen in her grief, her feet would keep her moving.

With Life Hikes, a memoir in three parts, Harmon shares her journey of self-discovery in the wake of loss with authenticity, candor, and grace. From an encounter with gigantic Galápagos tortoises to the 19,000-foot summit of Mount Kilimanjaro to the mythology-steeped Greek island of Ithaca, she explores the parts of herself and the edges of her grief that will ultimately bring her through it.

Like Harmon’s acclaimed first memoir, Surfing the Waves of Alzheimer’s, this collection is a triumphant tale of finding a new and authentic life through kindness, community, mindfulness, and the knowledge that the search for lost strength can sometimes reveal new and more powerful versions of ourselves.

About the Author

After retiring from a thirty-year career as a family medicine physician, Renée Brown Harmon, MD, published Surfing the Waves of Alzheimer’s: Principles of Caregiving That Kept Me Upright in 2020, a teaching memoir about her late husband’s time with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama, and Life Hikes is her second book.

Reviews

“[A] moving essay collection that blends memoir, nature writing, and reflections on grief into something both deeply personal and universally resonant. . . . Life Hikes is more than a memoir; it’s a gentle companion for anyone finding their way forward after loss.” —Manhattan Book Review

“Reading Life Hikes feels like walking alongside Harmon as she drinks in nature’s beauty, pausing to take in both the weight and the allure of her reflections. . . . Themes of self-care, self-compassion, and mindful action weave quietly through the book, reminding readers that life’s challenges can become turning points—invitations to live more authentically and abundantly.” —BookLife Reviews

“Dr. Renée Brown Harmon’s Life Hikes is a soulful, beautifully written exploration of loss, resilience, and the healing power of nature. Her words remind us that grief is not something we ‘get over,’ but something we learn to walk with—and that the journey itself can be transformative. Life Hikes is a gift for anyone carrying grief. Her stories offer companionship, authenticity, and the assurance that even in the shadow of loss, finding beauty and renewal is possible. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.” —Donna Francavilla, former CBS newscaster and coauthor of Glory, The Struggle For Yards: Inspiration from Turn of the Century African-American Unsung Heroes

“Dr. Renée Brown Harmon wowed the dementia community with her debut teaching memoir, Surfing the Waves of Alzheimer’s. With her follow-up book, Life Hikes, she has fully stepped into her role as healer. For Harmon, love and grief are experiences of self-discovery that she gingerly opens and examines. With grief as an ever-present companion, Harmon shows there is always much to relish and learn from nature, whether it's from a neighborhood stroll or on the path to some of earth’s most majestic vistas. Her new journey offers guidance for the weary sojourner in all of us.” —Miller Piggott, executive director, Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama

“Renée Harmon takes us on many hikes in this intimate account of her journey through grief after the death of her beloved husband, Harvey. In captivating and tender stories, she draws on the raw beauty of nature to illuminate the inner landscape of loss and healing. Along the way, she offers spiritual maps as gifts to all who seek to navigate their own valleys of sorrow and discover the peaks of renewal. This is a book for anyone who has known suffering—and longs for healing.” —Joseph Benton Howell, PhD, founder of the Institute for Conscious Being and author of Becoming Conscious and Know Your Soul

“In this, her second memoir, Dr. Renée Harmon gives us the gift of her ongoing recovery from the grief of her husband’s death from earlier-onset Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. In this book, she shares essays and blog posts of the wisdom and comfort gained from walking—literally—with grief, experiencing the lessons offered from nature and re-encountering the spark of the Divine in her walks, hikes, and climbs, near and far. With this book, Renée once again uses her hard-earned wisdom to nurture a larger community to help us grieve, regain the wonder of nature and spirituality, and heal.” —Beverly E. Thorn, PhD., author of Before I Lose My Own Mind: Navigating Life as a Dementia Caregiver

“Dr. Renee Harmon has borne her heart openly to us again in her new work, Life Hikes . . . carefully explain[ing] that grieving is a process, not a destination, and does not occur in linear, defined ordered stages, even though we may long for that. . . . Be invited, as I was, to open up spiritually and physically to the world around you, even as close as your front or back door.” —Maggie Walls Banger, MA, LPC-S, grief recovery specialist

“Brilliant. Heartwarming. Soul-affirming. Life Hikes is a luminous offering. Renée Harmon’s radiance and compassion flow onto the page with every step of her journey across the inner and outer landscapes of life. Like a trusted companion, Life Hikes walks the reader with intention, grace, and gratitude through loss, uncertainty, and the tender return to soul after the passing of her beloved.”
—Lorri Hanna, ICF ACC, certified deep transformational coach, community director at the Center for Transformational Coaching, founder of Barefoot Souls

“From the Swiss Alps to northern Alabama’s Sipsey Wilderness, Dr. Renée Harmon invites us into her journeys, literal and not, with loss and grief. She claims no expertise or special insight when it comes to grief; she just keeps showing up, rain or shine, to do the work step by step.” —Reverend Herb Robertson, MDiv, director of spiritual care, Children’s of Alabama

“In this beautiful memoir, Dr. Renée Harmon shares how hiking, travel, and science became her compass after her husband Harvey’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and death. From the familiar comforts of her backyard to the breathtaking heights of Mount Kilimanjaro, her journeys map the resilience of the human spirit, and her poetic storytelling and hard-won insight offer readers the stepping stones to explore their own landscapes of healing.” —Audrey McDonald Atkins, award-winning author of They Call Me Orange Juice and freelance writer, editor, and writing coach

“There is no how-to guide for navigating the rough and rugged road of grief, but Renée Harmon’s essay collection comes close—she uses personal stories to demonstrate how we can both lose and find ourselves in nature.” —Javacia Harris Bowser, founder of See Jane Write and author of Find Your Way Back: How to Write Your Way Through Anything

“Dr. Renée Harmon invites us to walk the honest terrain of her own metamorphosis. From encounters with the smallest parts of the natural world to climbing one of the world’s tallest mountains, she inspires us to follow the winding path of one of humanity’s most profound journeys: the return to the wilderness of our truest selves—a sacred unfolding vital to our own becoming.”
—Mimi Hill, co-owner of Blue Sky Trekking & Travel

“Dr. Renée Harmon’s Life Hikes resonates deeply with me. . . . Her story of finding courage and solace in the natural world affirms what I’ve learned: when grief threatens to freeze us, nature keeps us moving forward.” —Barry Hoffner, author of Belonging to the World: A Journey from Grief to Connection in Every Country on Earth

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