Louise Healy reflects on her years living in the Canadian Rockies

Writing Life After Three Years in the Canadian Rockies

In a recent personal essay, writer Louise Healy reflects on her three-year stint living in the Canadian Rockies, examining how a landscape defined by towering vistas and rugged outdoor pursuits also brings into sharp relief the distinct absence of home.

Healy recounts her move to Canada in 2013 for a position at an arts centre, a chapter that began with a white lie to human resources about her place of residence and quickly escalated into living in the Rockies. Navigating a landscape that eventually became ground zero for severe environmental shifts, she details how Canadian wildfires burned 17.2 million hectares in 2023—an area roughly twice the size of Ireland.

From High-Altitude Adventures to Hollywood Sightings

Healy embraced the physical demands of the region, joining a local ice hockey team in Banff and taking part in backcountry expeditions, including a 55km trail run to a hut at Mount Assiniboine. Amid the new job, everyday encounters occasionally brushed against the surreal, such as a memorable first-day interaction in a local shop with actor Matthew McConaughey—then looking gaunt while filming Dallas Buyers Club—who joked about her new job before purchasing leather boots for his wife.

Yet, the essay emphasizes that the true anchor of the Canadian experience proved to be personal connections rather than the scenery. Healy highlights the enduring friendship forged with a colleague named Kristy, noting that this relationship provided the kind of creative spark and familiar banter most missed when living far from home.

Preserving Connection Across Decades

Healy and her former colleagues continue to maintain their bond through periodic reunions, ranging from mountaineering trips in the Bugaboos to t’ai chi courses in the wine region of Naramata. As recent summers brought fresh reminders of climate volatility—marking the same British Columbia landscapes with wildfire smoke and evacuations—the essay concludes on a note of reflection regarding the enduring ease of deep friendships.