What does it mean to stay wild in a culture that would have us forget that’s what we are?
Welcome to Wild Story: a collection of creative essays, stories, and invitations for staying wild, tender, awake, and connected in this world.
If I’ve learned one thing from my 16 years as an outdoor guide, it’s that there’s a critical connection between wild spaces and our wild selves. Some of the stories you’ll find here are wild in the sense that they revolve around rivers, mountains, long walks, and backcountry (mis)adventures. Some wrestle with the creative process. Some are wildly funny, or just plan weird. Others are quieter; wild in the sense that they’re about radically paying attention, mapping deep joy, becoming more ourselves.
We are living in a time of technology-fueled disconnection and rising authoritarianism. Wild Story is an offering from a friend (hi, that’s me!) walking this road right next to you. It carves out space for deep joy and humanity; connects us back to nature; calls to the wild spirit; and reminds us that we can step outside of the broken systems and beliefs that don’t serve us and thrive. It’s a thread back to what is real.
Subscribe (it’s free!) and about once every month, a wild story, essay, or prompt for living a deeper, wilder life will land in your inbox.
Thank you for being here!
About me:
I’m a writer, outdoor guide, environmental storyteller, and professor of creative writing. I’m also a woman obsessed with living her life like she’s alive.
I write for the Appalachian Mountain Club, teach creative writing at Seguinland Institute, freelance for magazines, guide outdoor adventures, and I’m finishing up a book—my biggest Wild Story to date—about my solo trek across Finland’s Arctic Circle in the footsteps of a legendary woman. You can learn more about my work at jenny-oconnell.com.
What readers are saying about my writing:
“Heart-pounding, aching invitations into living more beautifully.”
—Katherine E. Standefer, author of Lightning Flowers & The Wild and Holy Moment
“Infectiously joyful, O’Connell’s writing is just plain fun to read. I’d follow her anywhere.”
—Bethany Maile, author of Anything Will Be Easy After This: A Western Identity Crisis
“A big-hearted journey that tells us rich secrets about what it means to be alive and searching.”
—Susan Conley, author of Landslide, Elsey Come Home, and The Foremost Good Fortune
