First Person | The Walrus

A photo collage of a woman holding a box of work supplies. The woman is repeated six times, and there are dots of colour across the image.

What I’ve Learned from Getting Fired Six Times (So You Don’t Have To)

April 15, 2021May 7, 2021 - by Cathrin Bradbury

If you’re called into the boss’s office on a Tuesday or a Thursday, watch out. And if you see an envelope? Run

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Row after row of sinks, each with a checkmark beside it

OCD Is Not a Joke

March 1, 2021June 8, 2021 - by Lisa Whittington-Hill

People with obsessive-compulsive disorder are often depicted as Type A clean freaks. The reality is much worse

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Illustration of several plates containing cassava-based dishes like pie and sliced root. The plates are garnished with purple and green flowers.

First Person / January/February 2021

Why My Mother’s Cassava Pie Is More than a Comfort Food

December 11, 2020January 29, 2021 - by Stephanie Wong Ken

Learning the history of resistance behind my family’s favourite dish

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Illustration of baseball cards, an open notebook, a baseball, and a tumbler of amber liquid with ice.

First Person / November/December 2020

Loving Sports at Any Age

October 16, 2020January 29, 2021 - by Anne O'Hagan

Even in his eighties, my father dared the rest of us to keep up

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A photograph of Barbara Amiel and her husband, Conrad Black, in formal attire. The background shows a couple of palm trees.

First Person / Society

Love and Antisemitism in Palm Beach, Florida

October 6, 2020March 9, 2021 - by Barbara Amiel

As a newlywed, Barbara Amiel desperately wanted to fit in with Conrad Black’s Palm Beach crowd. The only problem? His country club didn’t admit Jews

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Illustration of a person sitting at a table, turning his head to watch a woman in the kitchen.

First Person / September/October 2020

My Other Mother

August 20, 2020August 26, 2020 - by William Pang

My nanny helped raise me. Now it’s time for me to get to know her children

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Black and white photo of people, some on ox-drawn cart, others on donkeys or walking, as they migrate, following the Partition of India, October 1947

First Person / World

Writing in My Father’s Voice

July 31, 2020August 5, 2020 - by Madhur Anand

My parents lived through the Partition of India. To tell their stories, I had to put myself in their shoes

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An illustration of the head and shoulders of a human silhouette. In the background are several small houses, spread far apart, with a high density of trees in between. The colour scheme is dark periwinkle blue and the houses have yellow lights.

First Person / Society

How Northern Landscapes Helped Shape My Queer Identity

June 1, 2020June 1, 2020 - by Lori Fox

In the boreal, locked between the tundra, the coastal rainforests, and the prairies, I learned to relate to my body beyond my gender

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Illustration of a woman on a couch playing guitar. In front of her is an open laptop on a coffee table; behind her is an easel with a painting of a sun. Scattered books and vases are around and beneath the table.

COVID-19 / First Person / July/August 2020

If a Book Is Published in a Pandemic, Will Anyone Read It?

May 21, 2020August 14, 2020 - by Katrina Onstad

We already undervalue our artists. COVID-19 has only made it worse

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Overhead view of a man working at table in a living room beside his young daughter doing homework, while his second daughter lies behind him on a sofa and looks at a tablet.

Education / First Person

Why Home-Schooling Was Right for Me

May 12, 2020 - by Elizabeth Howell

When school stifled my creativity, my parents turned to independent learning

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