I'm a New Englander at heart, born into a French-Canadian family in the broad Connecticut River valley of western Massachusetts. In college, I studied literature and writing, biology, and all things medieval. I love rivers, farms, insects, oceans and mountains; slippers, hot beverages and board games; story-telling, dogs and music. If I could do anything, I would be a freelance writer and homesteader.
After graduating from Mount Holyoke College in 2006, I spent a year teaching English on a tiny atoll in the Marshall Islands; worked as a copywriter and editor for an academic publishing company in Vermont; built trails and did conservation, forestry and hydrology work in Idaho; took at-risk Alaskan teenagers on seven week wilderness expeditions; worked on an organic farm for troubled kids on the Big Island of Hawaii; wrote for a newspaper in New Hampshire/Vermont; briefly managed a backcountry lodge in Alaska, went back to working with at-risk teens, then spent six months as a sea kayak guide in Milford Sound, New Zealand. Whew. When I worried to a friend about my haphazard and lengthy resume, he said, "Writers don't have resumes. They have experiences."
I want to experience this world fully, and tell the stories of the people and places I run into. I want to build my own house. I want to live simply and nurture relationships with the people I love and know where my food comes from. I want to surround myself with creativity and beauty.
I like to learn new things, but I have such a range of interests that I rarely master any of them. I'm learning banjo, woodworking, photography, beekeeping and fermenting stuff. I'm constantly working at being a better writer, paddler, gardener and snowboarder, and I strive to see the world with my eyes wide open.
When I'm not busy paying the bills, I'm open to taking on writing or editing projects. Just contact me at langlois.krista@gmail.com.
