HALIFAX, MA — Steve Littlefield, a retired Army combat veteran, Veteran Service Officer, former law enforcement officer, and graduate student in mental health counseling, has announced the upcoming release of The Rucksack We Carry: A Field Manual for Veterans and First Responders.
Drawing from more than two decades of military service, deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, experience in law enforcement and fire services, and ongoing work with veterans and mental health advocacy, Littlefield’s book takes a direct and practical approach to cumulative stress, trauma, burnout, and resilience within high-stress professions.
Rather than presenting clinical theory or textbook psychology, The Rucksack We Carry uses the metaphor of the “rucksack” to describe the invisible emotional weight carried by veterans, police officers, firefighters, EMS personnel, healthcare workers, corrections officers, dispatchers, and others who routinely operate under stress and trauma.
“Our professions teach us how to carry this weight,” Littlefield writes. “What it doesn’t teach us is how to set it down.”
Written in plain language and grounded in lived experience, the book combines personal stories, practical tools, leadership insights, and peer-support strategies aimed at helping readers better understand the cumulative effects of stress before it becomes overwhelming.
“You cannot outwork trauma. You cannot grind yourself into exhaustion and call it strength. You cannot heal in isolation,” Littlefield writes in one of the book’s central themes.
The book is designed to serve not only individuals struggling silently under the weight of service but also leaders, spouses, peer-support teams, and organizations seeking to better understand the realities faced by those in uniform and emergency-response professions.
Littlefield currently serves as the Director of Veteran Services for the Town of Halifax and is completing his graduate degree in Mental Health Counseling at Bridgewater State University. He is also the founder of the Veterans Next Step Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on supporting local veterans and families.
The Rucksack We Carry will be available through Amazon and major online book retailers beginning June 1, 2026.
For media inquiries, speaking engagements, podcast appearances, department trainings, or bulk orders, contact:
Steve Littlefield
Email: steve@littlefield-wellness.com Phone: 774-231-8999