Sheryl Ann Simpson
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:45:34 PDT

What I'm Waiting For is a collection of essays that explores the boundaries between people and wilderness in Alaska. Most of the essays use childhood experience and journeys into the country to examine the relationship of history, myth, imagination, and language to landscape and wildlife. The style shifts among literary journalism, personal essay, and memoir as the narrator tries to locate her own place within these relationships. The viewpoint moves from an outsider's perspective represented by the narrator as a reporter, to an insider's stance as someone who grew up in the state. The writing attempts to overcome northern stereotypes and to present deeper meanings offered by Alaska's wilderness.