Moral distress in pandemic times
Cindy Wallace Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, Cindy Wallace was feeling out of sorts. Each new day seemed to bring more bad news, more uncertainty from leaders around the world about how to manage the virus, and more divisive politicking on all sides. In the midst of the unease she was feeling, Wallace was…
New mental-health website consolidates resources
Communitas Supportive Care Society has launched a new peer-support website, a comprehensive site that puts mental-health resources as close as the click of a mouse. The effectiveness of peer support lies in its simplicity: People with lived experience of mental-health challenges support others on the journey towards mental wellness. Peer-support workers (PSWs) truly understand the…
Toews adaptation a poignant, honest look at grief
Toward the end of All My Puny Sorrows, Lottie (Mare Winningham) sits in her Toronto apartment comforting her sobbing daughter, Yoli (Alison Pill), noting, “The pain of letting go of grief is just as painful—even more painful—than the grief itself.” This sentiment colours the film’s entirety. At its core, the movie, based on Miriam Toews’s…
Lonely without insects
Once upon a time I hitchhiked to a park visitors centre nestled beneath Wyoming’s Grand Tetons. Next to other quotes by famous American wilderness gurus were the words of a far-less recognized teacher of ecological wisdom. “Woe be unto you, who add house to house and field to field until you live alone in the…
Mental health, trauma and the non-profit sector
“You can’t pour from an empty cup.” The words came from a place of kindness and empathy, from someone who knew the feeling. It hit me to my core, because I was empty. It was 2015, days after the photo of the Syrian child Alan Kurdi was on the front page of newspapers around the…
An honest-to-God typo
Most of the time I can’t stand typos. They bug me. If I’m completely honest, I’m internally judgmental of people who don’t catch their typos, myself included. I love words, I love Wordle, I have a knack for spelling and, when I catch something spelled wrongly, I have a hard time looking past it and…
My cousin couldn’t manage the pain
Note: This reflection deals with the subject of suicide. On Nov. 27, a Saturday, I received a long text message from my cousin Richard (I’m using only his middle name here, for privacy), also sent to other extended family members. “I hope none of you ever have to go to a pain-management clinic,” he began.…
Grace, guilt and CO2
1. Grace There is more grace in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. That does not let anyone off the hook; it promises that we can face the grim fate of the Earth and the compromises of our lives without being utterly overwhelmed. (And it means I can break bread with sisters and brothers who do…
