Bio

My upbringing is different from most; I was raised a bush girl.

A girl whose home often featured strips of salmon baking in the sun or expertly thinned slices of moose and caribou drying on racks. A girl who spent summers harvesting from her parents' gardens (yes, multiple), fishing at the family fish camp, learning to gut and cut fish, and enjoying time at their cabin nestled within the Yukon’s forests, creeks, and wildlife. A girl who grew up in the “big city” of the Yukon at a time when racism was prevalent. A girl who struggled to find her identity as a native with settler ancestry.

A girl who never thought she would earn a degree, let alone a Master’s. Growing up in the Circumpolar North can feel isolating and distant from what she knew.

How did she achieve this?

Through hard work and a touch of luck.

I was raised in the bush, and now I live a suburban life in the political capital of the USA. My life is a balance of yearning for the outdoors and embracing the vibrancy of city life. I love attending a Broadway musical, donning a fabulous outfit, and enjoying fine dining. I cherish moments at my family's cabin (what some might call a shack) up in the mountains, where there is no cell service, just an outhouse and the rule of the animals.

Why is this in my bio?

Because my upbringing and current lifestyle shape everything I do.

The Yukon will forever hold my heart; it will always be my home.

The world, the cities, intertwined with my ambition, is my calling.

White Ash Falling is forthcoming from Pantheon (USA) and MccLelland and Stewart (CDN)

Represented by Hafizah Geter at Janklow and Nesbit.