Sadie Hunter has made the 2017 CBC Nonfiction Prize longlist for "Frozen Souls".

Sadie Hunter grew up in a family with three younger brothers and an older half-sister. Born in Ontario, she moved to Squamish, B.C., at a young age and then to northeastern British Columbia. Hunter says she "can't play team sports to save my life," so she spent most of her youth with her nose in a book. Hunter has a degree in journalism and science and a passion for facts and information. She currently live in Kamloops, B.C. with her husband, 19-year-old son and 10-year-old stepson.

Drifting isolated youth, suspended hope.

"This story was inspired by my lived experience as a teenager in northeastern British Columbia. Relocating to a new town and a new community during the adolescent years is a challenge at the best of times, moving abruptly as the result of a divorce, to an isolated, rural town operating on a completely different social norm, is an entirely different animal. I wanted to share my experience as a transplant to this small community, the harsh realities faced by other kids my age and the overwhelming sense of future emptiness."

"The wind picked up and sharp pellets of snow peppered me in the face like an army of tiny gnats, reminding me how little I could actually feel my face. I turned my head down, hunching further into a lightweight jacket unsuited for the -25℃ weather. The warmth of my breath frosted the hair around my face and I focused on my feet, squeaking and crunching their way through the dry snow.

"I pulled my collar up higher around my ears, attempting to shield them from the biting cold wind. Why even bother with school today? I didn't feel like I was getting much from going. I hardly went, yet I was still ahead, meaning I was bored most of the time. But I didn't want to sit alone in my room or in front of the TV in our rundown apartment either."

The winner of the 2017 CBC Nonfiction Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, will have an opportunity to attend a 10-day writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and have their story published on CBC Books and in Air Canada enRoute magazine. Four finalists will receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their story published on CBC Books.