Five Years a Writer

We can be so many things Every day, any day So let us be kind Every day, any day Let us always be kind I was taken aback when I realized, last week, that September 11th, this year, marked the 25th anniversary of that dreadful event named simply by its date. I remember being at work that day, time unfolding as it became clear, slowly, what was going on. We watched it on television, no smartphones to send videos across the distance, just each other, right there, together. Trying to make sense. The next day, the wicked awfulness became headlines, then weeks and months and years of news coverage and wars and death and more death and ongoing politics, destruction, and the very worst of humanity. And, yet, what brings me to tears about September 11th, anytime, is the kindness that also existed back on that day. Especially the kindness shown by the people of Gander, Newfoundland , shown to the thousands whose planes were grounded there on that day. The story from there is about the best of h...

SISU - How my mother’s fight for her death changed the course of my life By Shaana Hamm FriesenPress 2025 Review by Amanda Le Rougetel Death comes to us all, but how we die is unique to each of us. My father died of a heart attack, in hospital, in the middle of the night, alone. My mother died with medical assistance , at home, with my sister and me holding her hands. Two deaths, very different one from the other. I was relieved my father had been released from his failing body, but I was honoured to help my mother ease her way from this world in a way she wanted, was able to chose, and was grateful to have. About 76,000 people in Canada have chosen an assisted death since medical assistance in dying (MAiD) was legalized in this country in 2016. By reading SISU, a memoir by Shaana Hamm, I learned how very different a MAiD death can be from what I witnessed with my mother’s — and I was reminded how important it is that we share our stories by writing them and sharing them. How else can...