Life stories

Hear directly from individuals about their highly personal journeys into meaning and self-understanding

Stories of change

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Illustration of person climbing through a window which takes the place of one square in a giant period table, through the window is a city scene.
HOME

Lab at the edge of the world

When my daughter was bullied, I decided to homeschool her. A chain reaction ensued

by Lea Page

A yellow taxi on a busy street, people walking, child holding flowers, historic building in the background under a blue sky.
VALUES AND BELIEFS

Confessions of a teenage fundamentalist

My world was dark and scary. But beautiful things crept in, and threats of hell just couldn’t compete

by Liz Boltz Ranfeld

Popular

Silhouette of a person next to a glowing orange lamp in a dark room.
FRIENDSHIP

Discarded

The end of a friendship cracked me apart, triggering hidden memories – and helping me heal old wounds

by Antonia Malchik

Photo of a person speaking into a microphone holding an electric string instrument with a choir in the background.
THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE

The barbarians are at the gates in this electric Laurie Anderson performance

Video by All Arts

Woman in a white dress standing in front of a geometric quilt in a garden setting with trees in the background.
TRADITIONAL ARTS

Beauty is woven into everyday life for the quilters of the American West

A film by Carly Jakins and Jared Jakins

Photo of a large cloud viewed through a window framed by silhouetted trees and power lines.
DRUGS AND PSYCHEDELICS

A life-saving boredom

For years, I sought to escape my own mind. Once I became fascinated by it, getting high lost its allure

by Rafael Frumkin

Illustration of a woman standing in a giant conch shell, nestled among giant books, a large beaded necklace and various other objects, holding a small mirror, wearing a red top on a beige background.
MEMOIR

Love, shame and 325 bags of trash

In my mother’s hoarding house, I found something I wanted to keep

by Deborah Derrickson Kossmann

Photo of a man holding a microphone and equipment standing on a walkway with blurred people passing by in the foreground.
LONELINESS

Lonely in London, a filmmaker sets out to make a new friend

A film by Hugh Clegg

Illustration of a room with a person lounging on a bed, a pink dresser, a table with cups and a plant.
AUTISM

A mysterious black orb trails Mo, growing ever harder to ignore

A film by Gil Goletski

Painting of a man in colourful clothes sitting against a stone wall looking pensive with armour-clad figures in the shadows.
COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE

The loving tongue

In Spanish, I wasn’t the clumsy son of the town amputee. Learning the language catalysed my reinvention

by Timothy Hampton

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Silhouette of a person next to a glowing orange lamp in a dark room.
FRIENDSHIP

Discarded

The end of a friendship cracked me apart, triggering hidden memories – and helping me heal old wounds

by Antonia Malchik

Photo of a person speaking into a microphone holding an electric string instrument with a choir in the background.
THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE

The barbarians are at the gates in this electric Laurie Anderson performance

Video by All Arts

Woman in a white dress standing in front of a geometric quilt in a garden setting with trees in the background.
TRADITIONAL ARTS

Beauty is woven into everyday life for the quilters of the American West

A film by Carly Jakins and Jared Jakins

Illustration of a simple cartoon figure with a bob haircut wearing a green crop top and red skirt on a light background.
THE BODY AND PHYSICAL HEALTH

Growing pains, bras, size, sex – a group of women get candid about all things boobs

A film by Subarna Dash and Vidushi Gupta

Photo of a set of keys on a pavement with yellow and grey paint markings in the background.
PSYCHOANALYSIS AND THE UNCONSCIOUS

How I became a psychoanalyst by losing my keys

What are we really doing when we sit in a room with our patients and exchange some words?

by Jordan Osserman

Illustration of a person carrying a child on shoulders under a tree with yellow leaves on a pink background.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

Dreamlike fragments capture the pain and beauty of a father-daughter bond

Directed by Susi Haaning

Photo of a young gorilla with a pensive expression set against a blurred green forest background.
MEMOIR

Through Zuri’s eyes

She was a young gorilla, sitting alone in the Calgary Zoo. Once our eyes locked, I was in for a life-long connection

by Keriann McGoogan

Close-up photo of an elderly man with a beard wearing a black cap, lying in a hospital bed, looking content.
CHANGE AND SELF-DEVELOPMENT

After four decades in prison, Big D contemplates the brave new world that awaits him

Directed by Laura Tejero Núñez

A man wearing a robe sitting amidst rubble between two damaged red cars. He holds his head and has boxes and bags beside him.
GRIEF

Fieldnotes from my father’s funeral

I’d reported on earthquakes, murders and suicide attacks. I was still unprepared to watch my dad die

by Salman Masood

PERSONALITY

Mindie is a talented singer. She also doesn’t have legs. As a teen, it got complicated

A film by Megan Griffiths and Mindie Lind

Photo of a large cloud viewed through a window framed by silhouetted trees and power lines.
DRUGS AND PSYCHEDELICS

A life-saving boredom

For years, I sought to escape my own mind. Once I became fascinated by it, getting high lost its allure

by Rafael Frumkin

TRADITIONAL ARTS

An Aboriginal painter depicts scenes from her youth in this beautiful short

A film by Grace Kemarre Robinya and Jonathan Daw

Two scuba divers swimming underwater with sunlight filtering through the surface.
FEAR AND PHOBIA

Exposure

Wracked with unknown fear, I’d never been able to sleep through the night. Then I went scuba diving

by Lindsay Lee Wallace

Surreal photo of a person wearing glasses and a hat with their face distorted, leaning towards a camera in a hallway.
PAINTING AND SCULPTURE

This sculptor finds deep weirdness – not divinity – in the human form

Directed by Ben Berman

Water swirling around a concrete structure in low light, creating a reflective and slightly turbulent surface.
CIVIC LIFE

Girl in the water

I’d saved someone from drowning. Had I done the right thing?

by James McConnachie

A man lying with a serene expression surrounded by white lilies against a dark background.
AGEING

At 84, Jun lives to shock. His next act? A living funeral no one asked for

A film by Mari Young and Anika Kan Grevstad

Illustration of a woman standing in a giant conch shell, nestled among giant books, a large beaded necklace and various other objects, holding a small mirror, wearing a red top on a beige background.
MEMOIR

Love, shame and 325 bags of trash

In my mother’s hoarding house, I found something I wanted to keep

by Deborah Derrickson Kossmann

Illustration of a room with a person lounging on a bed, a pink dresser, a table with cups and a plant.
AUTISM

A mysterious black orb trails Mo, growing ever harder to ignore

A film by Gil Goletski

Silhouette of a person next to a glowing orange lamp in a dark room.
FRIENDSHIP

Discarded

The end of a friendship cracked me apart, triggering hidden memories – and helping me heal old wounds

by Antonia Malchik