In September 2021, I lost my wife. I had two boys, a decade of building something meaningful, and no language for what was happening inside me.

I started writing.

The Long Climb is that writing — an attempted memoir, in real time. Loss, parenthood, identity, leadership. What happens when the mountain you've been climbing changes under your feet, and you have to keep showing up anyway.

I'm Richard Berkfield. Executive Director of the Vermont Wilderness School. Previously co-founder and ED of Food Connects, a $5M food systems social enterprise in Vermont. Solo parent to two teenage boys. Most days I'm thinking through something on a trail in New England.

I also work one-on-one as a coach — leaders and parents who are carrying something and want to move through it with more intention. If that's relevant, reach out.

Free posts go out regularly. Paid subscribers keep the lights on — and the burritos coming for my active, growing boys. I'm building toward more.

If you're carrying something and still moving — this is for you.