Stories of change

Insightful and poetic first-person accounts of turning points and transformations

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Exposure

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

by Lindsay Lee Wallace

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

Girl in the water

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

by James McConnachie

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

Popular

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

Discarded

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

by Antonia Malchik

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

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

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

The loving tongue

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

by Timothy Hampton

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

Girl in the water

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

by James McConnachie

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

Exposure

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

by Lindsay Lee Wallace

Illustration of a hedgehog in a hat pulling a cart with flowers and fruit. Russian text says “Happy Birthday”

The birthday gift

In the Soviet Union, you’d never wish someone ‘S dnem rozhdeniya!’ without a proper present

by Margarita Gokun Silver

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

Popular

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

Discarded

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

by Antonia Malchik

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

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

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

Discarded

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

by Antonia Malchik

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

The loving tongue

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

by Timothy Hampton

Illustration of a hedgehog in a hat pulling a cart with flowers and fruit. Russian text says “Happy Birthday”

The birthday gift

In the Soviet Union, you’d never wish someone ‘S dnem rozhdeniya!’ without a proper present

by Margarita Gokun Silver

Painting of settlers in covered wagons crossing a grassy landscape with mountains in the background and people on horses nearby.

Ancestor trouble

What happens when you discover a family legend is untrue?

by Patricia Olsen

Photo of a dark rocky asteroid with a starry sky background and small particles visible near its surface.
MEMOIR

Seeing myself in a rubble-pile asteroid

Exhausted and adrift, I felt just like Bennu: a heap of fragments of a world that could have existed

by Elizabeth Landau

Two people on a train reading Metro newspapers with headlines about royalty and sports transfers.
LOVE

Adventures of an agony uncle

What I’ve learned from 10 years of sifting through other people’s problems

by James McConnachie

A prescription pill bottle spilling tablets onto an open book with highlighted text.

Professor’s little helper

Once I was prescribed Ritalin, I couldn’t do without it. How had I functioned before I got my pharmaceutical wings?

by Gordon Marino

Charcoal sketch of a person with curly hair sitting in profile, gazing upwards.

Losing her, losing myself

My mother’s dementia ruptured her sense of self. Why did it also shake mine?

by Noga Arikha