Memoir | The Walrus

Photograph of pink flowers in a black ceramic vase on a shabby concrete floor.

July/August 2021 / Memoir

On Aging Alone

June 14, 2021June 15, 2021 - by Sharon Butala

In old age, I had to come to terms with the loneliness I’d felt all my life

An illustration where, in the background, a woman walks into a house, her head tilted up. In the foreground, at the bottom of the front steps, her daughter looks towards her mother. The house has stained glass windows and light pours out from them onto the steps.

May 2021 / Memoir

The House That Mum Built

April 21, 2021June 8, 2021 - by Anubha Momin

Touring the homes of Frank Lloyd Wright helped me see what my architect mother had always wanted in life

Illustration of a kitchen on fire, with a man sitting at the kitchen table, holding a phone to his ear, with a laptop in front of him.

May 2021 / Memoir

When Death Is Preferable to Taxes

April 6, 2021June 8, 2021 - by Ken Babstock

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit helped me survive COVID-19’s first wave. Then the government tried to claw back the cash

An illustration of three human silhouettes on a background of blue, orange, pink and peach. The large white silhouette sits behind two other silhouettes that are orange and blue.

Memoir

Finding My Voice as My Mother Lost Hers

March 24, 2021June 8, 2021 - by Minelle Mahtani

Not long after I started my job as a radio host, my mother told me she had tongue cancer

Illustration of a copper jug amidst yellow and white and purple flowers.

March/April 2021 / Memoir

Death in the Age of Facebook

February 23, 2021July 20, 2021 - by Sandy Pool

What it’s like to mourn a mother via social media

Illustration of a girl looking in the mirror and seeing a beauty pageant star.

Memoir

I Was a Teenage Beauty Pageant Loser

February 2, 2021February 2, 2021 - by Natasha Ramoutar

These competitions promise self-transformation and personal growth. The reality isn’t so pretty

Red ring marks from the bottom of a glass form an abstract pattern on a black background

January/February 2021 / Memoir

My Struggle with Sobriety

January 6, 2021June 8, 2021 - by Mel Lefebvre

The decision to quit drinking was the right one for me. But, as I have learned, there’s no perfect way to do it

Illustration of a cluster of crumpled newspapers, out of which protrudes a person's arm and two legs. The background is blue and yellow checkers.

Memoir / September/October 2020

How Algorithms Are Changing What We Read Online

September 8, 2020January 4, 2021 - by Russell Smith

The AI of the internet determines what’s relevant. One day, it decided my work wasn’t

Fiction / Memoir / Poetry

Summer Reading 2020

July 16, 2020July 20, 2020 - by The Walrus Staff

New fiction, memoir, and poetry for the times we live in

Illustration of a bear standing on its hind legs. It is wearing a muzzle on its head and its eyes are glowing. Behind it, a fire is burning against a dark night.

July/August 2020 / Memoir

Dancing Bear

June 18, 2020December 8, 2020 - by Dimitri Nasrallah

In this memoir, a child and his family leave Lebanon for Athens