family | The Walrus

Illustration of a detached home on a quiet residential street. In the foreground, a painter applies a roller to obscure the neighbourhood in yellow paint.

January/February 2021 / Living Rooms

How to Save the Middle Class

December 2, 2020December 2, 2020 - by Max Fawcett

Our vision of the good life is stuck in the twentieth century. It’s time to reinvent it—starting with home ownership

Illustration of a woman lying in bed in a dark room, reaching out to touch the ghost of a man standing beside it and smiling down at her. His image is two translucent poses overlaid for a ghostly effect.

January/February 2021 / Society

Why Do We See Dead People?

October 27, 2020November 25, 2020 - by Patricia Pearson

Humans have always sensed the ghosts of loved ones. It’s only in the last century that we convinced ourselves this was a problem

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, 2020October 16, 2020 - by Anne O'Hagan

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

September/October 2020 / Visual Art

Sisters: A Complicated Love Story

September 9, 2020September 10, 2020 - by Jamila Noritz Reyes

Through my photography, I explore how my siblings and I have shaped one another

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

Illustration of a robed wizard, with long grey hair and a pointed hat, facing away from the viewer and standing in front of a long, twisting path that is blocked by a fiery head of a monster.

Arts & Culture / September/October 2020

How The Lord of the Rings Made Me a Better Parent

August 19, 2020October 19, 2020 - by Thomas Homer-Dixon

Tolkien’s trilogy teaches us how to stay hopeful in the face of overwhelming odds

Illustration of a woman walking across a tightrope against a royal blue background. Swirling in the air around her are various objects showing the collision of work and parenting life––paperwork, children's alphabetical building blocks, a cup of coffee, a bottle, and envelopes.

COVID-19 / Society

My Son Peed Onscreen in a Zoom Call, and Other Tales of a Working Parent

July 7, 2020July 16, 2020 - by Mihira Lakshman

In a pandemic, our economy is sending a clear message: you can either work or parent

Photograph of a young black girl sleeping at her desk in a classroom.

First Person

Race Is a Story and No Single Narrative Defines Me

April 23, 2020 - by Tessa McWatt

In a Toronto classroom, I was forced to confront how language makes one person “other” to the next

A kaleidoscopic oil painting composed of green leaves and red flower petals.

First Person / Society

Taking Hallucinogens with My Mom

April 14, 2020April 16, 2020 - by Rachel Matlow

When my mother was diagnosed with cancer, she didn’t want chemo. Instead, she tried every other potion under the sun

An illustration of a woman, sitting at a window inside an apartment. In front of her is a laptop with an open window that says "stay home." Outside the window is a park and a block of buildings, in which people socialize, picnic, play basketball, and talk, not bothering to maintain any physical distancing measures.

COVID-19 / First Person / Society

Family on the Front Lines of a Pandemic

April 7, 2020June 27, 2020 - by Judy Ziyi Gu

Until my uncle was sent to care for patients in Wuhan, the outbreak didn’t feel real to me. If only we had all paid attention sooner