family | The Walrus

A brown kitchen chair seated at a round table, covered in a yellow checked tablecloth. On the table are two glasses of wine, a slice of cake, and several face-down playing cards with the ace of spades facing up.

First Person / January/February 2020

How Euchre Healed My Family

December 12, 2019March 27, 2020 - by Jessica Myshrall

We have played through illness, arguments, divorces, and death

Several candy bars, partially unwrapped and bitten, against a purple background.

Society

Why We Get Nostalgic About Junk Food

December 2, 2019December 10, 2019 - by Emily Baron Cadloff

Modern diets are obsessed with nutrition. But there’s a reason we crave our childhood favourites

A portrait of two men and four children smiling and sitting on a couch

Society

Growing Up Mulroney

November 7, 2019June 13, 2020 - by Tessa Lloyd

Their father was prime minister for nearly a decade. What was it like to be his sons?

Three women stare across a sea at a group of businesspeople in front of a cityscape on the opposite shoreline

November 2019 / Society

When Canada’s Immigration Policies Pull Families Apart

November 5, 2019June 12, 2020 - by Kate Yoon

After years of training in Canada, my dad still had to go back to South Korea to get the job he deserved

Bright silhouettes overlaid on top of each other.

Memoir

Talking to My Family About Race

February 13, 2019November 14, 2019 - by Eternity Martis

For a long time, I was the only Black biracial person in my family. My relatives didn’t always accept that we shared different experiences

Oil painting of an older male against a sea background.

December 2018 / First Person

The Importance of a Family Cottage

February 11, 2019March 31, 2020 - by Ian Brown

When my son was born with a rare genetic syndrome, our secluded summer home became the one place he could be himself

Society

Why I Won’t Tell My Grandmother I’m Gay

January 28, 2019November 14, 2019 - by Erica Lenti

Sometimes staying in the closet is just as liberating as stepping out of it

Stork flying through the air holding a basket

Society

Why Natural Childbirth Is a Myth

August 17, 2018July 3, 2020 - by Merve Emre

The idea that some reproductive methods are better than others is harming women

Books

The Stories We Tell About Our Fathers

May 22, 2018November 12, 2019 - by Harley Rustad

Bill Gaston’s new memoir examines his dad’s life—and our fears that we all become our parents

First Person

I Believe in the Evil Eye—And You Should Too

October 13, 2017April 3, 2020 - by Erica Lenti

Why my family’s superstitious legacy is a salve for uncertain times