Wild Fierce Life is a heart-stopping collection of true stories from the Pacific Coast that build a vivid portrait of life on the continental edge and one woman’s evolving place within it.

Author Joanna Streetly arrived on the west coast of Vancouver Island when she was nineteen, and soon adapted to the challenges of working on boats of all sorts, guiding multi-day wilderness kayak trips along the BC coast, and living in remote situations often without electricity or running water.

From a near-death experience while swimming at night to an enigmatic encounter with a cougar, these stories capture the joys and dangers of living in a wild environment. Streetly’s vivid storytelling evokes a sincere respect for nature, both its fragility and its power.

Full of unflinching self-examination and a fidelity to the landscape of Vancouver Island’s outer coast, these stories reveal the interplay between inner and outer landscapes—the evolution of a woman uncovering the pleasures and dangers of the wild life.

Joanna Streetly grew up in Trinidad and moved to Vancouver to study Outdoor Recreation and Wilderness Leadership. In 1990 she moved to Tofino, where she has lived ever since. While transitioning to writing and editing, she worked as a naturalist guide and sea kayak instructor. Most recently, her writing can be found in Best Canadian Essays 2017, and in numerous anthologies, magazines and literary journals. She is the author of Paddling Through Time (Raincoast Books) and Silent Inlet (Oolichan). Her published work includes fiction, non-fiction and poetry. She lives afloat in the Tofino harbour with her partner, Marcel, and daughter, Toby.

Joanna Streetly's profile page

“With its gorgeous prose and adept storytelling, Wild Fierce Life captures life on the outer coast in a way that few recent titles have managed — and celebrates how this life can test the limits of who we are and how we understand the world around us. A must-read for all the adventurers among us, armchair and otherwise.”

The Vancouver Sun

“… She has given us good stories of breathtaking adventures, both beautifully crafted and enchanting.”

Foreword Reviews