13. Blessings from a Trail Angel: Finding Healing, Hope and Connection in Nature

What if the places we love can help us heal?

When my friend Renee Novotny told me about her book, Blessings from a Trail Angel, I immediately felt a connection to her story.

Renee’s son, Ryan, was an avid hiker, climber, arborist and lover of the outdoors.

Mountains, forests and wide-open fields weren’t simply places he visited—they were

woven into who he was.

Ryan died unexpectedly in an ice-climbing accident in Colorado at the age of 27. In the

months that followed, Renee found herself purposefully walking through forests,

climbing mountains, and spending time in nature as part of her own healing.

She also began writing down the remarkable moments she was experiencing. The

signs, synchronicities, miracle moments, and unexpected glimmers of hope. Those

writings eventually became Blessings from a Trail Angel, a memoir and spiritual journey about grief, healing, love and the possibility that our connections with those we love can continue after death.

Finding comfort among the trees

There is something about being in nature that can quiet us.

Walking through a forest. Standing beneath an old tree. Feeling the earth beneath our

feet. Breathing in mountain air. Watching sunlight move through the leaves.

In those moments, we can sometimes feel connected to something larger than

ourselves.

For Renee, nature became one of the places where grief and healing could coexist. The

mountains and forests became places where she could feel close to Ryan’s spirit while

also finding moments of peace, beauty and hope.

Ryan’s love of trees was especially meaningful. As an arborist, he spent his adult life

working with trees.

Trees, memories and love

One of the things I love about trees is that they remind us that life continues in ways we cannot always see.

A tree grows from a tiny seed. Its roots reach deep into the earth while its branches

reach toward the sky. It provides shelter, shade and oxygen. It changes with the

seasons yet remains rooted.

Perhaps our relationships can be like that, too.

Even when someone we love is no longer physically here, the roots of that relationship

remain.

Renee’s book isn’t about “getting over” grief. It’s about learning how to carry love

forward. It’s about discovering that joy can exist alongside sorrow and that healing can

come through unexpected places—through people, through nature, through memories,

through honoring someone we love, and through moments that feel like something

more.

Her message is simple:

Healing is possible. We are never truly separated. Love never dies.

Blessings from a Trail Angel offers a beautiful reminder to slow down, notice the small

miracles around us, and remain open to the ways nature and love can help us heal.

Perhaps that is one of the gifts of trees.

They remind us to stay rooted, keep growing, and remember that even when we cannot

see what is happening beneath the surface, something is still happening.

And sometimes, healing begins simply by taking the next step down the trail.

Three of Ryan’s trees are planted in Texas, where he grew up. Ryan’s trees are

included in The Aloha Tree Project’s interactive map.