Memoir, Mystery, and Mortality: Claire Cameron’s Wildest Story Yet

Author Claire Cameron has written about bear attacks, wilderness trauma, and the raw edges of motherhood — but in her latest work, the story turned inward.

After receiving a cancer diagnosis, Claire began writing not just about danger out there, but the uncertainty inside her own body.

In this episode of the Backroads Bill Podcast, Claire reflects on grief, nature, storytelling, and resilience — and how Algonquin Park, literary fiction, and a real-life bear attack all shaped her view of mortality and meaning.

00:00 - Intro: From Novels to Nature
06:15 - The Real Bear Attack Behind “The Bear”
12:30 - Facing Cancer and Writing Through It
20:10 - Grief, Parenthood & the Wild Unknown
27:45 - Why We Keep Going Back to Algonquin Park
35:00 - What Survival Really Teaches Us