Anne Marie Wells is the author of the new book Happy Iceland: How Icelandic Strangers Taught a Miserable American the Secret to Lifelong Happiness. Her other books include Write Some Cool Sh!t. She is also a poet and a playwright.
Q: What inspired you to write Happy Iceland?
A: The idea for Happy Iceland really was born out of the blue. In 2016, a few weeks before I was scheduled to leave on my flight from Denver to Reykjavik, the idea came to me while I lay at the doorway of sleep. I knew I was going to use my savings to fulfill my dream of traveling to Iceland for my 30th birthday. I knew I was traveling solo.
I knew I was just going to wing it instead of devising a set itinerary, but then, as if a ghost whispered the idea in my ear, I had the notion that I would travel around the country finding the locations Icelandic locals’ happiest memories took place… AND… despite having no background in writing whatsoever at the time, I would write a book about it…
Q: What would you say are some of the most common perceptions and misconceptions about Iceland?
A: I didn’t know much about Iceland before I left. I didn’t have perceptions other than it was cold, and that is accurate. Even in the July summer, I needed a winter jacket most days.
Perhaps one of the assumptions I made was that Iceland would be developed as a tourist destination hotspot, but in fact, they really did not have the infrastructure to support the amount of tourism they had.
Maybe that is different now a decade after I traveled there. Many of the most touristy places I went were not accessible for people who use mobility devices. The roads in particular often did not have any kind of shoulder for if/when a car broke down or to safely facilitate cyclists or pedestrians. Maybe that is intentional to keep the amount of tourists down—if you build it, they will come, type of thing.
While embracing the views that made me scream out loud, “ARE YOU SEEING THIS RIGHT NOW?!”, I was grateful I had the physical ability to see them. Individuals who use wheelchairs or walkers would not be afforded the same privilege, at least without significant assistance. Again, maybe that is different now, but that was my perception in 2016.
Q: How did you research the book, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?
A: I actually did not research the book since I had no idea how to write a book and so didn’t even know to do research in advance. I did think to myself before I left, “Oh no, I’m going to be stealth camping, and I didn’t even think about what kind of predators they might have. Do I have to worry about bears?”
But then when I googled “Icelandic predators,” I learned their largest predator is the arctic fox which is about the size of a house cat, and they’re shy to human beings. I only saw two while I was there, and as soon as they saw me, they darted away. Polar bears very rarely make it to Iceland with sightings only once every few years.
While driving to the airport, my sister sent me a listicle of the “10 Things That Can Kill You in Iceland”, but I never read it.
Q: What impact did it have on you to write the book, and what do you hope readers take away from it?
A: Writing this book built my career into what it is now. After I returned, I fleshed out the copious notes I took into what I thought was a compelling travel memoir and sent it off to a hundred literary agents.
The hundred rejections that came after were an awakening that writing a book isn’t as easy as just writing a book. I had to start from scratch, and I read dozens of books about writing, took dozens of courses on writing, and then did the actual writing part.
It took 10 years to get my book to a place where I felt genuinely proud of it. I hope readers find it to be a cozy, armchair travel story, and I hope it restores readers’ faith in humanity.
Especially now as it seems like the world only gets more violent, more cruel, and more callous toward one another, maybe this story would inspire readers to welcome a stranger into their home, to give a lowly hitchhiker a ride, and to believe again in the magic of human kindness and generosity.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I am working on promoting Happy Iceland. I host a weekly, virtual, generative writing workshop called The Joy of Poeting, and I’ve been slowly building a poetry guide on contemporary poetic forms.
My biggest goal right now, though, is to get into the MFA program at my local university. Whether I like it or not, I know many professional opportunities are gatekept by academia, and I’d like to open more doors for myself by getting an advanced degree.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Even though it took 10 years from when I went on my Icelandic escape to finally seeing Happy Iceland in print, throughout this decade I worked on and completed other projects that informed my writing for my memoir.
For example, I wrote a number of short plays. Some won contests and were produced on stage, and others were published in literary journals. I fell in love with poetry and saw dozens of my poems published (one on a transit bus!), two of my poetry collections were picked up by publishers, and I even won some awards.
I was commissioned to write and be the creative designer for a coloring and activity book for kids that was published in 2025. And I self-published a book of writing prompts called Write Some Cool Sh!t. All of these projects took my attention away from Happy Iceland, but they also taught me new skills that I then implemented into my memoir.
Writing this book certainly wasn’t linear, but I never gave up on it, and I never gave up on myself. And now, I am even grateful to all of the literary agents and indie presses who rejected Happy Iceland. I am so proud of the book I have now, and I am glad that it’s this version that the world will read.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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