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Memoir

“I’m a front-line worker. I live in my car. And I’m not unique”: a memoir about being homeless during Covid
Memoir

“I’m a front-line worker. I live in my car. And I’m not unique”: a memoir about being homeless during Covid

People like me—the hidden homeless—have always been around. The pandemic is only making a bad situation worse

“By the end of the first month, we’d made triple our rent”: This ex–PR pro teamed up with her mom to open a Korean restaurant during Covid
Memoir

“By the end of the first month, we’d made triple our rent”: This ex–PR pro teamed up with her mom to open a Korean restaurant during Covid

"People thought we were crazy for opening a restaurant during Covid"

Three years ago, I left Toronto to walk across Canada. Now I’m riding out the pandemic in an Arctic community of nine people
Memoir

Three years ago, I left Toronto to walk across Canada. Now I’m riding out the pandemic in an Arctic community of nine people

"I’m truly in the middle of nowhere, with boreal forest, river valleys and mountain ranges as far as the eye can see. The pandemic and this place have become part of my big adventure"

Inside the mind-bending business of keeping a restaurant alive during a pandemic: a memoir from Toronto’s top chef
Memoir

Inside the mind-bending business of keeping a restaurant alive during a pandemic: a memoir from Toronto’s top chef

At Alo, I poured my heart and soul into creating the perfect dining experience: the ambience, the service, the elegantly plated food. Now I make 1,200 burgers a week

A cooped-up, stressed-out urbanite’s guide to the longest winter ever
Memoir

A cooped-up, stressed-out urbanite’s guide to the longest winter ever

Livestreamed dance parties, window workouts, really long walks, and other creative ways to stay sane

“We’re beyond capacity, and I expect it will only get worse”: A Scarborough ICU director on what it’s like at hospitals hit hardest by Covid
Memoir

“We’re beyond capacity, and I expect it will only get worse”: A Scarborough ICU director on what it’s like at hospitals hit hardest by Covid

"Before the pandemic, I would often work 100 to 120 hours straight before getting a week off. During the pandemic, however, there's no such thing as a week off"

“It’s true what they say about exercise: it improves your mood”: How one woman became a distance runner at age 41
Memoir

“It’s true what they say about exercise: it improves your mood”: How one woman became a distance runner at age 41

Stefanie Purificati had never run a day in her life before she laced up her old sneakers last summer. Here's how it went

“I started hosting daily meditation sessions on YouTube”: How an assistant professor at U of T is helping himself (and his subscribers) get through Covid
Memoir

“I started hosting daily meditation sessions on YouTube”: How an assistant professor at U of T is helping himself (and his subscribers) get through Covid

He turned his apartment into a studio

“I lost three patients in 36 hours”: a memoir from the Covid ward at TGH
Memoir

“I lost three patients in 36 hours”: a memoir from the Covid ward at TGH

"I’m often the only person my patients see, touch or talk to for weeks at a time. We develop real friendships, and that makes it all the more devastating when they die"

“My classmates and I are helping seniors combat loneliness”: This U of T neuroscience student puts the care in health care
Memoir

“My classmates and I are helping seniors combat loneliness”: This U of T neuroscience student puts the care in health care

"It helps me feel like I’m making a bit of a difference in what seems like a hopeless situation"

“I started a yoga hub for Black women”: This entrepreneur found a way to make wellness affordable and inclusive
Memoir

“I started a yoga hub for Black women”: This entrepreneur found a way to make wellness affordable and inclusive

"When the Black Lives Matter movement came alive, we brought in a therapist to talk about healing from racial trauma"

“With enough food and water, I could keep walking forever”: This software engineer takes 30-kilometre walks around the city to keep calm during Covid
Memoir

“With enough food and water, I could keep walking forever”: This software engineer takes 30-kilometre walks around the city to keep calm during Covid

Sometimes he's strolling for 10 hours a day

“My first client was an 84-year-old grandma”: This yoga instructor teaches classes outside her clients’ windows
Memoir

“My first client was an 84-year-old grandma”: This yoga instructor teaches classes outside her clients’ windows

Ashley McEachern came up with her Covid-friendly fitness business in October

“After I dance, the world looks brighter to me”: How a daily Zoom dance party keeps this Toronto mom from losing it in lockdown
Memoir

“After I dance, the world looks brighter to me”: How a daily Zoom dance party keeps this Toronto mom from losing it in lockdown

"When I shake my body, my emotions rise up to the surface. My dancing becomes joyful. And then I can look at my kids and notice that they’re cute again"

<em>Toronto Life</em>’s top 10 memoirs of 2020
Memoir

Toronto Life’s top 10 memoirs of 2020

A year of loss, upheaval and a little bit of hope

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Big Stories

&#8220;I’m a front-line worker. I live in my car. And I’m not unique&#8221;: a memoir about being homeless during Covid
Memoir

“I’m a front-line worker. I live in my car. And I’m not unique”: a memoir about being homeless during Covid

The miserable truth about online school
City

The miserable truth about online school

They were first in line for the vaccine: &#8220;I felt so lucky—like this might be the beginning of the end of this nightmare&#8221;
City

They were first in line for the vaccine: “I felt so lucky—like this might be the beginning of the end of this nightmare”

Inside the mind-bending business of keeping a restaurant alive during a pandemic: a memoir from Toronto&#8217;s top chef
Memoir

Inside the mind-bending business of keeping a restaurant alive during a pandemic: a memoir from Toronto’s top chef

A cooped-up, stressed-out urbanite’s guide to the longest winter ever
Memoir

A cooped-up, stressed-out urbanite’s guide to the longest winter ever

&#8220;I lost three patients in 36 hours&#8221;: a memoir from the Covid ward at TGH
Memoir

“I lost three patients in 36 hours”: a memoir from the Covid ward at TGH

&#8220;My parents sent me to boarding school near Toronto. It turned out to be a perverse fundamentalist cult&#8221;
Life

“My parents sent me to boarding school near Toronto. It turned out to be a perverse fundamentalist cult”

<em>Toronto Life&#8217;</em>s top 10 longreads of 2020
Deep Dives

Toronto Life’s top 10 longreads of 2020

They survived Covid, but they&#8217;re not okay
Life

They survived Covid, but they’re not okay

The Bay Street ex-con who fooled his investors—twice
City

The Bay Street ex-con who fooled his investors—twice

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