Maybe the same wolf: essays

Keely O'Connell
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:45:43 PDT

When Keely O'Connell takes a teaching position in a remote village in Alaska, she is an outsider and a newcomer. Maybe the Same Wolf traces her relationship with the far north from the longing and wonder of those first steps down onto the village runway through the challenges of a steep wilderness learning curve and into a reflective intimacy with place that transforms her sense of self. Maybe the Same Wolf is grounded in scene--snowmachine engines growl, canid eyes shine, blood freezes to pant legs, and damp sand clings to caribou fur--but the essays are also rich with lyricism and reflection. They explore themes of independence, fear, romantic love, wilderness, subsistence, and wildness, and together the collection offers an account of arrival and relates a story of deepening appreciation for what it means to be human, particularly in the wilderness, but also in relation to one another and a changing world.