“The strength you’re looking for is already inside you—just believe, and it will rise.”
When I was a child, my twin sister and I lived just outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. What I remember most was how different the world felt there. The days stretched on forever, with no real night to speak of just soft light that lingered in the sky, even at bedtime. It felt like time itself had slowed down, as if the land wanted us to stay in each moment a little longer.
I remember the sound of birds echoing in the still air, the scent of pine and earth after the rain, and the way the breeze moved gently through the trees, making the most beautiful sounds. It was peaceful, yet alive. We would walk the trails around our home, sometimes talking, sometimes just listening. There was a kind of freedom there that made me feel both small and strong at the same time.
My sister was always charging ahead, full of energy and curiosity. I was quieter, more cautious—but I was watching, learning, and feeling everything. Alaska showed me that there is power in that kind of quiet. That you don’t need to be loud to be brave, you just need to trust what’s inside you.
Beneath the Wolf’s Watch came from those memories. The book is not just about a new place, it’s about what it feels like to enter the unknown and discover that your strength has been with you all along.
This story is for every child who feels the world deeply, who sometimes walks a little slower, and who wonders if their quiet voice matters. It does. And the world needs exactly who you are.
With love, Marsha
