READER'S DIGEST - October 01, 2022

THIS MAGAZINE SAVES LIVES THE WOMEN WHO WON WWII

PAGE 46 PAGE 80

SACNEPNL EEI VBCERRAISTAAI ORLYN CANADA’S NOVEMBER 2022
MOST-READ
MAGAZINE

75 Awe-Inspiring
Reasons to Smile

PAGE 27



reader’s digest

CONTENTS

Features 52

27 drama in real life

cover story Swept Away!

ONLY GOOD NEWS If the hydro workers
didn’t act fast, Sherry
2022 wasn’t all bad. Vyverberg would be
Here’s a year’s worth of carried over Niagara
heartwarming, world- Falls or caught in the
shaking, awe-inspiring swirling blades of the
and straight-up happy- powerhouse turbines.
making reasons to smile.
BY JANICE TYRWHITT
BY SARAH LISS, JASON McBRIDE
AND STAFF

46

inspiration

Between the Lines

Canadians shared their
fondest memories of
Reader’s Digest, and
what the magazine has
meant to them over the
past 75 years.

ISTOCK.COM/CHEKYFOTO on the cover:
photo by liam mogan

reader’s digest

60 70 74

health heart life lesson

Buzz Kill The Whistle Blowers Dishing Dirt

New studies show that My grandparents had a Not all gossip is bad.
even moderate drinking distinctive way of com- How to quash the
is a health hazard. municating. A quick mean-spirited kind.
Here’s a frank look at phoooweet, and the
the gruesome toll alco- other would appear— BY KATHERINE ASHENBURG
hol takes on the body. summoned by love.
78
BY BRAD BADELT BY ERIN PEPLER
humour
8 AARON McKENZIE FRASER
Clown Car

Our all-night road trip
with an eccentric driver.

BY SOPHIE KOHN

80

society

Women Power

When Halifax became
key to Canada’s war
effort, they led the way.

BY MICAH TOUB

84

editors’ choice

Harm Done

Jaskirat Singh Sidhu
accepted his punish-
ment for the deadly
Humboldt crash. So
why, after his extra-
ordinarily harsh sen-
tence, must he also face
being deported?

BY SHARON J. RILEY
FROM THE WALRUS

Departments Humour

4 Editor’s Letter 22
Life’s Like That
6 Contributors
59
7 Letters All That Jazz

14 Points to Ponder 68
As Kids See It
big idea
73
8 Brave Hearts Laughter, the Best

A camp helps teen Medicine
girls become first
responders. health 12

BY ANICKA QUIN 16 Slim Pickings 18 News From the
World of Medicine
ask an expert Does intuitive
eating beat a con- BY SAMANTHA RIDEOUT
12 Has the Pandemic ventional diet?
Aggravated medical mystery
Agoraphobia? BY VANESSA MILNE
24 Blame Game
We quiz psycholo- 16
gist Melanie If it wasn’t her
Badali. weight, what was
causing her pain?
BY COURTNEY SHEA
BY ANNA-KAISA WALKER
(FOOD ILLUSTRATION) MYRIAM VAN NESTE; (BADALI) LAUREN TAMAKI
reader’s digest
book club

96 We Spread

A haunting thriller
about lost memory.

BY EMILY LANDAU

98 Brainteasers

100 Trivia

101 Word Power

103 Sudoku

104 Crossword

rd.ca 3

reader’s digest

EDITOR’S LETTER reading. We were inundated with sub-
missions, a selection of which you can
Lisa Pigeon find on page 46.
in 1996
Another secret to this magazine’s
Milestones success is the people working behind
the scenes to get it published. Our
Seventy-five years of publishing Reader’s Digest Canada team is small
is no small achievement. In this in size, but not in talent. Key among
special anniversary issue, you’ll
find an unabashedly heartfelt com- them is Lisa Pigeon, who joined this
pilation of 75 good news stories company 40 years ago—not quite 75,
(page 27); a classic Drama in Real but certainly an incredible milestone.
Life story, from 1984, about one Lisa started as a typist. Today she
woman’s ordeal at Niagara Falls manages our budgets and contracts,
(page 52); and, to exercise ensures our contributors get paid,
your brain, a 75th-themed coordinates our Apple News Plus
crossword (page 104). edition and our electronic archives,
organizes translations for our French
The secret to Reader’s edition, Sélection—the list goes on and
Digest’s successful run is on. If anyone has an RD question, Lisa
our loyal subscribers. Ear- knows the answer. To me, she’s the
lier this year, we invited embodiment of Reader’s Digest Can-
our readers to tell us how ada: kind, caring, passionate, as wise as
they discovered the mag- they come and quick with a laugh.
azine and what keeps them
Thanks to Lisa. And thanks to you,
our terrific readers. This will be
my last issue editing this maga-
zine. I’m grateful to be part of its

75-year history. Here’s hoping it
sees another 75.

(PUPO) DANIEL EHRENWORTH

4 november 2022

PUBLISHED BY THE READER’S DIGEST MAGAZINES CANADA LIMITED, MONTREAL, CANADA

Christopher Dornan chairman of the board
James Anderson publisher and national sales director

Barbara Robins vice president and legal counsel
Mark Pupo editor-in-chief

deputy editor Lauren McKeon art director John Montgomery
executive editor, deputy art director Danielle Sayer

digital Brett Walther graphic designer Pierre Loranger
associate editor Erica Ngao content operations
contributing editors Rosie Long Decter,
manager Lisa Pigeon
Samantha Rideout, circulation director Edward Birkett
Stéphanie Verge
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proofreader Jonathan Furze Bendall, Derek Bowman, Daniel Ehrenworth, Aaron McKenzie
senior researcher Lucy Uprichard
researchers Martha Beach, Talia Kliot, Fraser, Jess Hannigan, Sophie Kohn, Susan Camilleri Konar,
Madeline Lines, Nikky Emily Landau, Sarah Liss, Rob Lutes, Jason McBride, Kagan
Manfredi, David Warner McLeod, Vanessa Milne, Liam Mogan, Ronit Novak, Barb
copy editors Chad Fraser, Amy Harkness, Olson, Erin Pepler, Rose Anne Prevec, Anicka Quin, Samantha
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Paige Stampatori, Lauren Tamaki, Sébastien Thibault, Micah
Toub, Janice Tyrwhitt, Myriam Van Neste, Anna-Kaisa Walker,

Jeff Widderich, Victor Wong, Daniel Wood

THE READER’S DIGEST ASSOCIATION (CANADA) ULC

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VOL. 201, NO. 1,194 Copyright © 2022 by Reader’s Digest Magazines We acknowledge
Canada Limited. Reproduction in any manner in whole or in part in English or with gratitude the
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rd.ca 5

reader’s digest

CONTRIBUTORS

BRAD BADELT AARON McKENZIE
FRASER
Writer, Vancouver
Photographer,
“Buzz Kill” Ketch Harbour, N.S.

Badelt is a journalist “Brave Hearts”
who writes about science and envi-
ronmental issues. His work has McKenzie Fraser is an editorial and
appeared in publications such as commercial photographer with a
The Walrus, The Globe and Mail and focus on environmental portraits.
Canadian Geographic. He has been His work has appeared in The
nominated for several National Guardian, The Globe and Mail and
Magazine Awards and Digital Pub- American Craft. He has won three
lishing Awards. Check out his story Applied Arts Awards and four Ameri-
about how alcohol affects your can Photography Awards. See his
body on page 60. latest work on page 8.

DARREN RIGBY MYRIAM VAN NESTE

Puzzle maker, Burnaby, B.C. Illustrator, Quebec City

“Brainteasers” “Slim Pickings”

Rigby has been creat- Van Neste first
ing and solving puzzles since grade trained as a sculptor. Now her prac-
school. His brainteasers have tice focuses on graphic illustrations.
appeared in Games Magazine, and he She works on projects for publishers
wrote a book of anagram puzzles, Sit and other businesses, including
& Solve Commuter Anagram Puzzles. product and pattern designs, book
Rigby has also competed in interna- covers and illustrations, and murals.
tional puzzle competitions, such as Her clients have included Starbucks,
the MIT Mystery Hunt and the World Illy Coffee and Chronicle Books. Find
Puzzle Championship. Try to solve her illustration for a story about intu-
his visual brainteaser on page 98. itive eating on page 16.

6 november 2022

LETTERS

PUBLISHED LETTERS ARE EDITED FOR LENGTH AND CLARITY A TRAVELLER’S BEST FRIEND IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY
During a road trip to visit family, my I’m a Grade 9 student from Medicine
wife, Carol, brought some Reader’s Hat. On Canada Day, my family and I
Digests to pass the time. She quizzed me completed “The Canada Quiz” (July/
from the Word Power pages, knowing August 2022). When a question asked
that words and number games always which is the sunniest city in Canada,
intrigue me. We’ve been yearly sub- the answer was obvious to us—Medi-
scribers since then. cine Hat. But the answer provided was
Calgary. How could both cities claim
— MICHAEL DISCENZA, Lachine, Que. the title? I did some research and
found out that Medicine Hat has 330
REMOTE RESPITE days of sun a year, while Calgary has
When I was nine years old, my father 333. However, Medicine Hat has 2,544
moved us to an isolated ranch in cen- hours of sun a year, while Calgary only
tral British Columbia. No water, no has 2,396. In my opinion, it’s a draw.
power, no indoor facilities—not even
a fridge! My mom knew I was crazy — MARIAH MCOUAT, Medicine Hat, Alta.
about reading and got a subscription
to Reader’s Digest. I would frequently
be cautioned about reading them too
quickly, as I’d have to wait for the next
issue to arrive.

— DEANNA TASKER, Didsbury, Alta.

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rd.ca 7

reader’s digest

BIG IDEA

A camp coaches teen girls to become first responders

Brave Hearts

BY Anicka Quin

photograph by aaron mckenzie fraser

A NDRÉA SPERANZA WANTED to Halifax Regional Fire Service. Her job
be a firefighter long before was exactly as fulfilling as she imagined
she had the right word for her it would be, except for one thing: she
wish. After one childhood adventure still hadn’t seen another woman in her
at a construction site ended with a role—not in a magazine, not on televi-
brake lever embedded in her thigh and sion, not in real life. Even today, less
an emergency call to the fire depart- than five per cent of firefighters in Can-
ment, she found herself in awe. “As ada are women, and a 2017 study found
they patched me up, I thought, ‘They that over 20 per cent of those who do
help everybody and they can do any- sign up face sexual harassment on the
thing,’” says the now 52-year-old. job. Speranza decided that she wanted
to help young women see that they, too,
In 2000, Speranza fulfilled her dream could have a career like hers.
of becoming a firefighter, joining the

8 november 2022

Andréa Speranza
is helping more
women thrive in
her field.

reader’s digest

The result is Camp Courage, an to help more women become first
immersive program for girls aged 15 responders, Speranza says she also
to 19 who want to learn more about has another, bigger objective in mind:
firefighting, paramedicine and police building leaders. “If they can deliver a
work. In 2006, Speranza and about mechanical baby or climb a hundred-
20 volunteers welcomed their first 17 foot ladder, they’re not going to have a
participants, recruiting attendees problem going through a job interview
through advertising in schools and or a presentation at school,” says Sper-
recreation centres. Over the course of anza. “It’s a complete change in mind-
eight days, the girls discover the ins set, and it works.”
and outs of being first responders:
learning how to extinguish fires, deliv- Julia Stevens was a shy 16-year-old
ering first aid and even using the jaws when she attended Camp Courage in
of life on a car. 2015. She signed up to explore a career
in paramedicine but instead fell in
LESS THAN FIVE love with firefighting—she especially
PER CENT OF loved the experience of climbing that
hundred-foot ladder. “I felt real
FIREFIGHTERS ARE accomplishment,” says Stevens, who’s
WOMEN AND MANY now 23 and a firefighter in Cole Har-
FACE HARASSMENT. bour, N.S. She’s also a camp mentor,
like many other past graduates.
Camp Courage now runs one ses-
sion every year in Halifax and is free to Hundreds of girls have now passed
attend. To offset costs, Speranza and through Camp Courage, and 36 per
her fellow camp mentors fundraise by cent are doing exactly what Speranza
holding everything from car washes to hoped they would: working as first
comedy nights. Hopeful campers must responders across the country. This
also submit an essay describing how past summer, the camp held its first
they plan to help their community, or session for young Indigenous women
a specific individual in need. And they in Halifax, as well as its first national
have to deliver on the plan—from camp in Calgary—with plans to roll out
building a bench for a senior at a bus more in 2023.
stop to launching a local chapter of the
Kids Help Phone. “I used to think that it’s awesome,
that I can be a firefighter and save all
While Camp Courage is designed these people,” Speranza says with a
grin. But the opportunity to recruit
other girls to save lives alongside her?
That’s what really keeps her going. “It’s
not even measurable.”

10 november 2022



reader’s digest

ASK AN EXPERT

Has the
Pandemic
Aggravated
Agoraphobia?

We quiz psychologist

Melanie Badali

BY Courtney Shea elevators, airplanes, lineups—but it’s
not just the fear of one particular set-
illustration by lauren tamaki ting, which would be a more basic diag-
nosis. When diagnosing agoraphobia,
Let’s start with the obvious: what we are looking for two or more envi-
is agoraphobia? ronments where the person experi-
The common oversimplification is that ences the fear.
agoraphobia is a fear of leaving the
house, but it’s more complicated than What else are you looking at from a
that. You could almost say that agora- diagnostic perspective?
phobia is a fear of being in situations The physical symptoms are often sim-
that will cause panic; this feeling ilar to a panic attack: rapid heartbeat,
of I’m going to be in this situation and trouble breathing, dizziness. And then
I’m going to be trapped. It has to do a person will probably report that they
with enclosed spaces—public transit,

12 november 2022

are unable to do things or be in situa- But again, if a person is scared of get-
tions that used to feel okay. There is ting Covid, that is a different thing.
a sense of your world getting smaller With agoraphobia, the fear is that
and smaller. With all phobias, it needs they might actually die from panic
to be persistent: at least six months of (like, a racing heart will lead to a heart
the same issue. There needs to be an attack). Or they are worried that they
interruption of a person’s ability to might lose control (start trying to
function in day-to-day life. And then smash the windows on an airplane, for
we’re looking for an overestimation of example). Some people will have the
the threat and an underestimation insight to recognize that their fear is
of coping ability. disproportionate to the situation, but
the reality is that for most people who
After two years of Covid-related come to see me, they are there because
confinement, have you seen or do a loved one has said to them, “I’m
you expect an uptick in agorapho- worried about you.”
bia diagnoses?
We know that Covid has caused an SYMPTOMS INCLUDE
uptick in stress and anxiety, but part RAPID HEARTBEAT,
of agoraphobia is fear being out of TROUBLE BREATHING,
proportion to risk, and that doesn’t
necessarily line up with the fear of AND DIZZINESS.
public spaces during the pandemic,
where the threat was real. I think that What does treatment look like?
most people who are anxious about I am a cognitive behavioural therapist,
re-entering society after Covid will take so the goal is actionable solutions.
small steps and realize that it is not Often that means exposure therapy—if
actually that scary. They will have good you’re afraid of being in an elevator, we
experiences out in the world and anx- will start by standing and just watching
iety will subside, so you won’t have the the doors open and close, and then
persistence I mentioned. step in and step out. It’s gradual, and it
only works with repetition over time—
So there’s no such thing as Covid- like practising the piano. The hope is
induced agoraphobia? that as well as realizing that their fear
It is possible that the pandemic cre- is overblown, people will remember
ated conditions that could trigger a the positives associated with pushing
person with high susceptibility (a fam- past their fear.
ily history, for example). At this point,
we just don’t have the data to know.

rd.ca 13

reader’s digest

POINTS TO PONDER

I’VE LEARNED You have to work three (TWAIN) ZUMA PRESS, INC./ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; (LINDSAY-NOEL) COURTESY OF TAYLOR LINDSAY-NOEL
TO SEE times as hard as the

DIFFICULT average guy in country
TIMES AS JUST music in order to get a
PART OF THE shot. To be relentless
BUSINESS OF
BEING ALIVE. was the only way.

–Michael –Shania Twain
Ignatieff, SPEAKING

ABOUT HIS BOOK ON
CONSOLATION

I TRULY I hope audiences walk away
THOUGHT IT WAS with a feeling that, as women,
A JOKE AT FIRST. we’re all on the same team—
that there’s nothing you can’t
–Grand Manan, N.B., resident
Selena Leonard, UPON LEARNING THAT talk about with each other.

THE ISLAND, WHICH HAS A POPULATION OF –Rachel McAdams, DISCUSSING HER ROLE IN THE
AROUND 2,600, WAS LOSING ITS ONLY
BRICK-AND-MORTAR BANK FILM ADAPTATION OF JUDY BLUME’S ARE YOU THERE
GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET

The washrooms are
typically where things

go very sideways.

–Disability advocate Taylor Lindsay-Noel, TALKING ABOUT

REVIEWING WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBILITY IN TORONTO RESTAURANTS

My grandma’s

a baddie.

–Never Have I Ever star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan ON

THE SOURCE OF HER BEST BEAUTY HACKS

WHEN I DRAW, I WE’VE ONLY GOT
FEEL VERY HIGH. IF ONE WAY IN AND
I’M A LITTLE SAD OR
DEPRESSED, I DRAW ONE WAY OUT.
AND I FEEL BETTER.
–Steven Crewe, mayor of Hermitage-
–Industrial designer Karim Rashid Sandyville, Newfoundland and Labrador,

EXPLAINING WHY THE WILDFIRES THAT RAVAGED
THE PROVINCE THIS PAST SUMMER UNDERSCORE
THE NEED FOR MORE TRANSPORTATION ROUTES

(RAMAKRISHNAN) PR, EH?; (RASHID) NIKOLA BLAGOJEVIC When I actually
throw the ball, they

all shut up.

–Jaida Lee, WHO MADE HISTORY AS THE FIRST

FEMALE TO PLAY IN THE MALE BASEBALL

COMPETITION AT THE CANADA SUMMER GAMES

I’m half Canadian—
maybe I should.

–Tesla CEO Elon Musk, SPEAKING AT A

SHAREHOLDER MEETING ABOUT THE SUGGESTION
TO OPEN A MANUFACTURING FACILITY IN ONTARIO

rd.ca 15

reader’s digest

HEALTH A LTHOUGH MOST DIETS vary
according to what foods you
Slim Pickings can eat, they all follow the
same principle of restriction: to lose
Does intuitive eating beat a weight, you need to eat less. Never
conventional diet? mind that there’s ample evidence that
few diets work in the long term, with
BY Vanessa Milne most dieters gaining the weight back
within a year.
illustration by myriam van neste
The now-trendy diet of intuitive eat-
ing is, in a sense, an anti-diet: follow-
ers are encouraged to base what they
eat on how they feel, not on prescribed
limits or calorie counts.

How Does It Work?

The concept was first proposed in the
mid-’90s by registered dietitians Elyse
Resch and Evelyn Tribole, who wrote
Intuitive Eating. The first step is to
reject the idea that you need to be on
a diet to be healthy. Intuitive eaters
work on getting back in touch with
their hunger levels, practising eating
when they’re hungry, paying attention
to when they’re full and stopping when
they’re satisfied.

You’re encouraged to also give your-
self “permission” to eat all foods, to
reject the idea of “good” and “bad”
foods and to accept your inherent body
shape. Finally, you help make your
body  healthier by adding exercise,
finding better ways than food to soothe
your emotions and slowly shifting to
more nutritious food choices.

One of the biggest myths around
intuitive eating is that nutrition goes

16 november 2022

out the window. Curiously, research rather than having people do yo-yo
shows that restricting “bad” foods weight cycling, it allows them to live at
makes us think about them and desire a weight that is easy to maintain.”
them more. “Thinking ‘This is a bad
food’ makes you feel like you’re a bad A small study from New Zealand
person for eating it—and that leads to looked at 39 adolescents with Type 1
disordered eating patterns,” says Katie diabetes and found “a strong associa-
Keller, a registered dietitian in Calgary. tion between intuitive eating, in partic-
ular the effect of emotion on eating, and
In a traditional diet, caloric restric- glycemic control.” Another study, from
tion is usually followed by a binge, Brazil, looked at 179 people who were
where the body’s primal drive to make mostly elderly and found that intuitive
sure it gets enough calories overrides eaters had an 89 per cent lower chance
any aspirations for nutrition or mod- of inadequate glycemic control.
eration. Because intuitive eating allows
all foods on the table, practitioners can Should I Bother?
make small, slow changes—that ulti-
mately are more long-lasting—toward Intuitive eaters do gain a healthier atti-
eating more nutritionally. tude toward food, compared to yo-yoing
dieters. A study by U.S. researchers
Will I Lose More Weight? followed nearly 1,500 intuitive eaters
from 2010 to 2018 and found that they
Short answer: No. There isn’t strong were less likely to be depressed, have
research to back up claims that intui- low self-esteem or dislike their bodies.
tive eating helps with losing weight or They were also less likely to fast, skip
eating more-nutritious food. A 2021 meals or binge on food.
systematic review of intuitive eating
published in the Journal of the Acad- We often decide to diet for emo-
emy of Nutrition and Dietetics pointed tional reasons: because we believe we
out that the studies were low-quality will be happier if we’re skinnier, for
or found that there were no differences example, or that we will find love or
between people who were intuitive get a better job. “You dig a little bit
eaters and those who weren’t. deeper, and what they actually want is
to feel comfortable and confident and
In Keller’s experience, however, healthy in their own body,” Keller says.
intuitive eating can help with overall “People have to be ready to overcome
weight maintenance. In addition, she their constant desire to lose weight
says, it has advantages for your health: and manipulate their body, and to
“There is research that shows that it realize that changing how they look on
can improve blood-sugar levels and the outside isn’t going to change those
it can repair metabolism,” she says. “So things on the inside.”

rd.ca 17

reader’s digest

Avoid This Skin Tag
and Mole Mistake

BY Samantha Two of the most com- ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/EVILWATA
Rideout mon types of skin blem-
ishes among adults are
CUTTING SALT DOESN’T the dark spots known as
MEAN LESS FLAVOUR moles and the growths
known as skin tags.
Part of managing high blood pressure is cutting back Both are harmless and
on sodium, but there’s no denying that a little salt don’t require treatment
enhances the taste of food. In a 16-week experiment unless their appearance
from the University of Kentucky, subjects with hyper- is an issue. In some
tension gradually cut back on their salt intake to give jurisdictions, mole-
their palates a chance to adjust. At the same time, and skin-tag removal
a nurse coached them on buying groceries, cook- kits are sold for home
ing, choosing meals at a restaurant and using the use. But these products
salt shaker less and less. This approach helped can contain a large
them reduce their sodium intake by an average amount of salicylic acid
of one-third, but also increased their enjoyment of and could leave you with
salt-restricted meals. The takeaway? It’s possible to permanent scarring.
retrain your taste buds to appreciate a healthy diet. The American Food and
Drug Administration
recently issued a warn-
ing about these kits
after receiving reports
about consumers who
had injured them-
selves. You’re better
off visiting a dermatol-
ogist, who can safely
remove a lesion. Plus,
while they’re at it, they
can perform the all-
important screening
for skin cancer.

18 november 2022

Turbocharging We’re Not the
the Flu Shot Best Judges of
With Exercise Our Own Diets

(FEET) ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/VLADIMIR SUKHACHEV; (MAN) ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/DIGITALSKILLET The Balance Vaccines tend to be less Many of us overestimate
Challenge effective for older peo- the healthiness of our
ple, who often mount eating habits, if a large
Can you stand on one a weaker immune study from the U.S.
leg for 10 seconds? This response. Researchers Department of Agricul-
question could help doc- are looking for ways to ture is any indication.
tors evaluate the overall overcome this. For Over 9,750 adults were
health of their middle- example, in a recent asked to list what they
aged and older patients, Australian review, peo- ate and to evaluate their
argues a Brazilian-led ple who worked out near overall diet quality.
study. The subjects who the time of a flu shot Around 80 per cent of
couldn’t perform this tended to show higher them rated it differ-
balancing feat had an antibody responses. ently—often higher—
84 per cent higher risk These effects were espe- than experts did. Mis-
of death during a cially pronounced for conceptions about
median follow-up participants who exer- nutrition aren’t all that
period of seven years, cised the same arm that unusual. For instance,
after accounting for had received the jab. according to the U.S.
basic factors like age Strength training causes National Institutes of
and sex. Besides caus- a helpful kind of muscle Health, some people
ing falls, poor balance damage that heals back believe that choosing fat-
can also signal underly- stronger while releasing free or gluten-free foods
ing medical issues, such certain molecules that makes for a health-
as declining eyesight or may signal danger to ier diet. In fact, a bal-
nerve damage caused the immune system, anced diet includes cer-
by diabetes. Much like thus activating it and tain kinds of fat, while
grip strength or walking boosting the vaccine. avoiding gluten makes it
speed, balancing ability trickier—though not
doesn’t tell the whole impossible—to get all
story of your health, the vitamins, fibre and
but it’s a useful clue. minerals you need.

rd.ca 19

reader’s digest

Smarter Habits to Control Asthma A Possible Early ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/FAHRONI
Flag for Parkinson’s
After noticing that their neighbourhood had
a high rate of asthma-related hospitalizations, From time to time,
researchers at the U.K.’s Queen Mary University everyone has distress-
of London decided to see why. They found their ing dreams. But an
answer in the prescription records of over 30,000 eClinical Medicine study
asthma patients. Twenty-six per cent were pre- found that people over
scribed six or more rescue inhalers in a year, a 65 who had nightmares
potentially dangerous level of use. at least once a week
were twice as likely to
A rescue inhaler, also known as a short-acting go on to develop Par-
beta-agonist inhaler, restabilizes an asthma suffer- kinson’s disease. This
er’s breathing when symptoms such as wheezing symptom tended to
and coughing get out of control. This device saves show up a few years
lives, but using it too often can increase the risk of before more obvious
severe attacks. ones, such as tremors
or slow movement.
To avoid this scenario, doctors prescribe an
additional puffer known as a maintenance inhaler. Don’t Risk Radon
Patients are supposed to take it every day, which isn’t Exposure
always easy to remember when they’re feeling per-
fectly well. “It’s not that I don’t want to take it,” said Long exposure to low
one participant in a 2009 study. “It’s that I forget.” concentrations of radon
increases the likelihood
When used faithfully, a maintenance inhaler of lung cancer, accord-
helps control inflammation in the airways and pre- ing to an international
vent asthma flare-ups from happening in the first study. There are certain
place. In East London, one-quarter of the people renovations you can do
who were overprescribed rescue inhalers were to mitigate the risk as
underusing maintenance inhalers. much as possible. The
most common one
Patients who could get repeated automatic refills involves installing a
for their rescue inhalers without seeing a doctor pipe and a fan to draw
were also more likely to rely on them too much, radon out from under
suggesting that work- the foundation of your
ing with a GP to
actively monitor your home and release
asthma—during an it outside.
annual appointment,
for example—is
worth the trouble.

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reader’s digest

LIFE’S LIKE THAT of the day better
because I am no longer
A Pair of Crocs working out.

— @ALLISONRASKIN

Cashier: That will be
$82.07.
Me: I’d like to use my
eight trillion rewards
points towards this.
Cashier: That will be
$82.03.

— @DAVIDADT1

20/20 Vision I stood in line at a food Future Planning
I asked my dad what he truck for 10 minutes I text “just met my
was planning to do before I realized it was future husband!” to at
today. He said he was just my neighbour least one friend after
going to the optometrist returning from a trip each first date, just to
and then he’d see. to Costco. ensure someone has a
cute anecdote to tell at
— REDDIT.COM — @BBREWERSTANDUP our wedding.

Jitter Bugged My husband: Every- — GINNY HOGAN, comedian INSTAGRAM @RPODOVICH
Drinking coffee is all thing is dishwasher
about knowing when to safe if you don’t care Everybody has a drawer
stop. For example, I enough about it. in their home that con-
know I’ve had enough tains both garbage and
when my hands are — @PHIAMENINA the most important
shaking but I can still documents a human
answer an email. Don’t Sweat It can have.
Working out in the
— @ELYKREIMENDAHL morning makes the rest — @THEGLENNISSHOW

Send us your original
jokes! You could earn $50
and be featured in the
magazine. See page 7 or
rd.ca/joke for details.

22 november 2022



reader’s digest

MEDICAL MYSTERY

Blame Game

If it wasn’t her weight, what
was causing her pain?

BY Anna-Kaisa Walker

illustration by victor wong

I N HER LATE 30s, Gia Laurent’s in a motorcycle crash. “I became
monthly menstrual cycle became obsessed with food,” she remembers.
more than just a minor annoyance. “I fed the emptiness inside me.” By the
“Five days out of every month, I could time her menstruation trouble started,
barely leave my house,” she recalls. She she was carrying 177 kilograms on her
tried treating the intense cramps with 165-centimetre frame.
over-the-counter pain relievers, but
reporting to work at her government job At age 42, fed up with the pain, she
in Toronto was often out of the ques- found the courage to visit her GP. Her
tion. “The bleeding was so heavy, I doctor blamed Laurent’s weight. “She
couldn’t walk from my car to my office told me, ‘The reason your periods are
without detouring to the washroom to so painful is because you’re a big girl,’”
change the pad I’d soaked through.” Laurent says. There’s science behind
the diagnosis: obesity, according to
Since childhood, Laurent had har- one Australian study, is associated
boured a fear of doctors and hospitals with more painful periods because a
that she couldn’t quite explain. She greater percentage of body fat may
had also struggled with depression, contribute to higher levels of estrogen.
eating disorders and her weight since
she was 19, when her boyfriend died The doctor attributed the heavy
bleeding to perimenopause, a normal

24 november 2022

phase of hormonal fluctuations that her uterus, along with ovarian cysts the
begins a few years before menstrua- attending physicians would later sus-
tion stops completely. The doctor sent pect were infected.
her on her way with prescriptions for
iron supplements and the prescription Laurent was admitted for five days,
painkiller naproxen. She also sug- receiving a blood transfusion and anti-
gested Laurent should consider gastric biotics. A few weeks later, she was
bypass surgery. referred to Dr. Andrea Simpson, a
gynecologic surgeon at Toronto’s St.
Laurent left feeling defeated. Des- Michael’s Hospital, for surgical inves-
perate for relief, she dieted and exer- tigation. During surgery, Simpson
cised over the next year, losing about found evidence of endometriosis, a
45 kilograms. “I thought, I’ll show her,” painful disorder where tissue similar
she says. to the uterine lining grows outside the
uterus. She inserted an intrauterine
But the nightmarish periods didn’t device (IUD) containing hormones
abate—in fact, by the end of 2019, they that would lighten Laurent’s periods,
were worse. The doctor was shocked at and biopsied several fibroids and the
her dramatic weight loss, but other than uterine lining to check for malignancy.
switching her to a slightly more effective
iron supplement, she didn’t propose DESPERATE FOR
further diagnostic tests for Laurent’s RELIEF, SHE LOST
menstrual pain and bleeding. Then the 45 KILOGRAMS,
pandemic hit, and Laurent avoided her BUT THE PROBLEMS
doctor entirely, resigned to suffer in ONLY GOT WORSE.
silence. She felt constant fatigue and
could barely make it through a work- Laurent was sent home to recover
day. “As soon as I logged out of remote and waited several weeks for Simpson
work, I’d go straight to bed,” she says. to call with the results from the pathol-
ogy report. Simpson had already run a
One night in February 2021, Laurent cancer antigen screening blood test to
was cooking dinner at home, where check for the presence of a protein called
she lived with her parents. Suddenly CA 125, and when Laurent’s results
overwhelmed by pain, she fell to her came back high, she explained that it
knees on the kitchen floor. Her parents wasn’t abnormal to see this type of read-
called 911 and an ambulance took her ing in someone with endometriosis.
to the emergency room at Mackenzie
Health, in Richmond Hill, Ont. Blood
tests showed that she was severely
anemic, and an ultrasound scan
showed several large masses around

rd.ca 25

reader’s digest

But when Simpson called with the has taken up cycling, swimming and
results of the biopsy, it was positive weight training.
for endometrial cancer, which is can-
cer of the uterine lining. Laurent went Simpson says Laurent’s cancer could
numb. “I don’t think I heard anything have been diagnosed much sooner if
after the word ‘cancer,’” Laurent says. her family doctor had ordered an
“It was as if my ears shut down, as endometrial biopsy. It’s a minimally
did my brain.” She wept quietly as her invasive procedure that can be per-
mother sat beside her on the couch, formed in-office by a gynecologist. “An
rubbing her shoulders. endometrial biopsy is the gold stan-
dard for diagnosing endometrial can-
Simpson recommended a total hys- cer in anyone with abnormal bleeding
terectomy. In September 2021, Laurent of the uterus,” Simpson says. “It’s rec-
returned to the operating room to have ommended for any bleeding after
her uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes and menopause and heavy bleeding over
ovaries removed, as well as to repair an the age of 40, as well as for patients
abdominal hernia. under 40 with risk factors—and obe-
sity is a major one.”
Luckily, since the surgery was a suc-
cess and her cancer was caught in the Unfortunately, says Simpson, it’s
early stages, Laurent didn’t require che- common for overweight patients to
motherapy or radiation. Endometrial receive substandard health care.
cancer has a generally favourable sur- “Weight is one of the last socially accept-
vival rate, with 83 per cent of patients able stigmas in society,” she says. “Some
living beyond five years. Laurent, now doctors assume that these patients
48 years old, is currently in remission. don’t care about their own health, lead-
She’s back at work and has taken great ing them to internalize these experi-
strides toward a full recovery from her ences and avoid health care altogether.”
years-long ordeal. Despite fatigue from
her lingering anemia, she regularly “These were the first health care pro-
walks some 10,000 steps a day and viders to really treat me like a human
being,” says Laurent.

Twice Bitten

The most bloodthirsty animals in the Arctic are not wolves,
but the insatiable mosquitoes.

FARLEY MOWAT

Listen to them, children of the night. What music they make.

BELA LUGOSI

26 november 2022

COVER STORY

2022 wasn’t all bad. Here’s a year’s worth of
heartwarming, world-shaking, awe-inspiring and

straight-up happy-making reasons to smile.

BY Sarah Liss, Jason McBride AND STAFF

photograph by liam mogan

rd.ca 27

reader’s digest

RISE UP biological children and often wondered COURTESY OF JEOPARDY PRODUCTIONS, INC.
what became of her daughter. In 2021,
1 In the summer of 2021, the village of when Sonya’s son researched his gene-
Lytton, B.C., was ravaged by a deadly alogy, he discovered that Cole was liv-
wildfire. Rebuilding has been slow and ing in a retirement home in Toronto.
expensive, but defined by acts of kind- Surprised and thrilled, the two women
ness both big and small. Last March, were reunited on Cole’s 98th birth-
members of B.C.’s Chinese-Canadian day and spent a weekend learning as
community raised over $51,000 to much as they could about each other.
help reconstruct the beloved Lytton Seeing her daughter again, Cole says,
Chinese History Museum, which com- was “definitely the best thing that has
memorated the Chinese labourers and happened to me.”
merchants who helped build the prov-
ince. While the museum’s collection of THRILLER VIEW
some 1,600 artifacts is irreplaceable, its
spirit—of celebration, of resilience— 5 The new Malahat Skywalk on Van-
cannot be extinguished. couver Island boasts panoramic
views of the coastal region, a walkway
COZY BLANKET through the treetops and an exhilarat-
ing spiral slide.
2 Since 2009, quilt makers across Can-
ada have donated over 18,000 hand- TINY TRIUMPH
made Quilts of Valour to injured Cana-
dian Armed Forces members. 6 The Little Canada exhibit in Toronto
is a big celebration of the country’s
HAPPY HAUNTING sights—in miniature form.

3 To banish pandemic blues, an HEADDRESS RESCUE
anonymously organized horror-
themed treasure hunt brought resi- 7 For Sikh men, the turban has several
dents of Miramichi, N.B., together for functions: it contains the hair they
spooky outdoor fun and cash prizes. traditionally leave uncut, it distinguishes
them from Muslims and Hindus, and it
FAMILY REUNION symbolizes spiritual strength. For two
hikers stranded last Thanksgiving in
4 Miracles do happen—even if they B.C.’s Golden Ears Provincial Park, the
sometimes take a lifetime. In 1942, turbans were also a lifeline. Spotting
18-year-old Gerda Cole, a poor Jewish the hikers stuck on a ledge over a roar-
refugee living in England, gave her ing river, a group of five Sikh men
baby girl, Sonya, up for adoption. Cole unravelled their headdresses, turned
then emigrated to Canada and became them into a long makeshift rope and
an accountant. She never had any other

28 november 2022

pulled the hikers to safety. Gurpreet GIANT FEAT
Singh, one of the rescuers, was unper-
turbed about using his turban this way: 10 You can gaze at the tallest mural
“We can tie it again, but that life—we in the world in Calgary. It’s 95
can’t bring it back.” metres high and took more than 500
cans of spray paint to create.

GOLDEN MOMENT INVIOLABLE RIGHTS

8 The Canadian women’s hockey 11 Canada remains a beacon of
team won gold at the 2022 Beijing inclusion and diversity, especially
Olympic Winter Games, righting their when LGBT2Q+ rights are imperilled
2018 loss to the Americans. or outright denied in many parts of the
world. Last November, the federal gov-
TRIVIA CHAMP ernment made this abundantly clear
when it amended the Criminal Code
9 Few twentysomething Canadians to ban conversion-therapy practices
ever appear on Jeopardy! and a designed to change a person’s sexual
much smaller number of Canadians orientation or gender expression. The
ever win 23 games in a row. A popu- law went into effect in January, making
lation of one, in fact: Halifax-born, Canada one of fewer than a dozen
Toronto-based whiz kid Mattea Roach. countries—including France and New
Last spring, Roach became the coun- Zealand—to provide such strong leg-
try’s most successful Jeopardy! contes- islative protection.
tant of all time, taking home a whop-
ping US$560,983. The streak qualified JOCKS TO WATCH
her for the 2022 Tournament of Cham-
pions, airing this November. 12 The Toronto Blue Jays haven’t
looked this good since, well,
José Bautista flipped his bat in 2015.
Their lineup now includes charismatic
sluggers Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo
Bichette, a stellar pitching rotation fea-
turing the likes of Alek Manoah and
Kevin Gausman, and the league’s most
unlikely superstar—and the Jays’ secret
weapon—beefy, speedy catcher Ale-
jandro Kirk. Given that the team is one

of the youngest in the league, Jays
fans have a lot to look forward to
in the coming years.

rd.ca 29

reader’s digest

NORTHERN STAR WELCOME HOME

13 Inuk singer-songwriter Susan 17
Aglukark received the Juno
Humanitarian Award for creating the
Arctic Rose Foundation, which sup-
ports Indigenous youth and connects
them with their culture through arts
programming.

SUMMER SENDOFF Nhung Tran-Davies was five DANIEL WOOD
when her family found a new
14 The Canadian National Exhibi- life in Canada after fleeing the
tion returned after a two-year Vietnam War. Upon arriving at
hiatus and capped off the summer with the Edmonton airport in 1979,
its signature deep-fried foods, carnival Tran-Davies was greeted by
games and attractions to razzle-dazzle another young girl who wel-
the entire family. comed her with a toy doll, a gift
that, to Tran-Davies, symbolized
WHALE OF A COMEBACK the kindness and compassion of
Canadians. Almost 40 years later,
15 A record number of baby whales Tran-Davies, now a doctor and
were spotted swimming in the children’s writer living in small-
Salish Sea in 2021, a happy sign for town Alberta, reprised this same
the oft-beleaguered sea mammals. gesture of generosity and helped
sponsor two refugee families
HEALTHIER HEART from Syria. When the second
family arrived, she presented
16 Since its invention in 1980, the their youngest daughter, Alma,
implantable cardioverter defibril- with a doll of her own. Tran-
lator (ICD) has been a literal lifesaver, Davies hopes her story will
preventing countless incidents of car- inspire others to embrace new-
diac arrest. But the traditional ICD, comers. “I think there will natu-
which electrically jolts an abnormally rally be less resistance to welcom-
beating heart, can also cause compli- ing refugees and migrants who
cations, including blood clotting. Last become our good neighbours,
spring, however, scientists at Hamil- friends and family,” she says.
ton’s Population Health Research
Institute unveiled a study proving the
viability of a subcutaneous ICD that’s
placed below the armpit and doesn’t
have contact with any blood vessels. This

30 november 2022

Tran-Davies and
(inset) a news clipping
from her 1979 arrival

reader’s digest

new ICD was shown to cut the risk of SUN WORSHIP
complications by 92 per cent. That’s
shockingly good news—especially for 21 Fort Severn First Nation is the
the roughly 200,000 patients who most northern Indigenous com-
receive an ICD every year. munity in Ontario, located less than 10
kilometres from the coast of Hudson
ACCESSIBILITY PIONEER Bay and typically accessible only by
air. Being so far north means the com-
18 Seventy-five years ago, the first munity gets a good amount of sum-
wheelchair-accessible bus was mer sunshine—almost 17 hours a
invented by First World War veteran day in July, in fact. Last November, Fort
and Nova Scotian Walter Harris Cal- Severn started to harness that energy,
low. He developed the service while opening its first solar farm, a 300-kilo-
blind and quadriplegic. watt project that has allowed the
community to radically cut its reli-
WORTHIER HERO ance on diesel fuel. The solar farm is
expected to reduce use by about
19 After a rally in support of Indig- 130,000 litres annually, and generate
enous rights, protestors in Ham- up to $350,000 in savings. Chief Paul
ilton pulled down a statue of contro- Burke, who got the ball rolling on the
versial figure John A. Macdonald and project in 2016, says the profits will
replaced it with an E.T. stuffed toy. help fund new housing for the commu-
nity’s roughly 360 people. “I’m show-
REAL KICK ing the world that if we can do this
here, being so remote, we can do
20 For the first time in 36 years, the this anywhere,” he says.
Canadian men’s soccer team
qualified for the World Cup.

IDEA GENERATOR THE CANADIAN PRESS/NATHAN DENETTE

22 The federal government is
investing $1 billion to create
an investment agency for science
and innovation.

RARE BREED

23 A St. Bernard puppy in Arm-
strong, B.C., was born with
green fur—the result of a rare phe-
nomenon—and named Lucky, in part
for its auspicious hue.

A VOTE OF LOVE FOR UKRAINE alone reserving nearly 3,000 nights.
None of these people, including
As the war in Ukraine heads into its Ontarians Tracy McCullough and Ali-
ninth month, many Canadians con- cia Omand, had any intention of trav-
tinue to provide support, economic elling to the country. Their bookings
and otherwise. were simply an efficient, quick way to
directly send money to Ukrainians in
24 In Etobicoke, Ont., Barrel desperate need. In the first 48 hours,
House Korchma, a popular $2.4 million was sent using this inge-
and boisterous tavern owned by a nious method.
Ukrainian-Canadian family, stepped
up immediately, taking cash dona- 28 Quinn Farm, a sprawling
tions for the Friends of Ukraine complex outside of Montreal
Defence Forces Fund (they raised that also includes a shop and bakery,
over $12,000 by August). first welcomed one former farmer,
Yaroslav Zahoruyko, to help in May,
25 In Winnipeg, Anna Karpenko, and by June they were hosting whole
who calls Dnipro, Ukraine her families. The Quinns’ strawberries
hometown, took to Facebook in early have never tasted so sweet.
March and gathered more than two
tonnes’ worth of medical sup-
plies, diapers and food for tod-
dlers that were sent to Ukraine.
She also gathered clothing for
refugees coming to Canada.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/JUSTIN TANG 26 The Canadian charity
Lifewater, which helps
provide safe drinking water in
Haiti and Africa, partnered with
a group of expat Ukrainians to
truck water into Ukraine and to
help refugees flee the country.

27 In the weeks after the
war started, hundreds
of people around the world
booked Airbnb locations in
Ukraine, with Canadians

rd.ca 33

reader’s digest

AARON McKENZIE FRASER FAMILIAR FIND HOUSE PROUD

29 30 Last year, the Vancouver-based
PALS Adult Services Society
Renée Forrestall traded (PASS) teamed up with Catalyst Com-
her roller skates for cash munity Developments to create Can-
when she was a college ada’s first independent housing pro-
student. Four decades gram for adults with autism spectrum
later, itching to get back disorder, providing subsidized apart-
on eight wheels, the ments that tenants can stay in for life.
Haligonian scoured sec- “We’re not just providing housing for
ond-hand sites for them,” says Lauren Crumb of PASS.
lace-up skates. To her “We’re providing a community within
surprise and delight, a community.” That project, located
the $40 pair she scored in a mixed-use apartment complex in
turned out to be the the city’s Mount Pleasant neighbour-
very pair she’d sold way hood, created new homes for 16 peo-
back when—her name ple (plus caregivers where needed),
was still scrawled inside along with an attached health clinic.
the boot. It was, she This was just the beginning, however.
says, “a Cinderella-and- PASS is now working with five other
the-slipper moment.” developers to replicate the project in
other locations in the area.

TONGUE TRIED

31 There are fewer than 40,000 peo-
ple in Canada who speak Inukti-
tut, with about 65 per cent of them living
in Nunavut. Thanks to Miali Coley-
Sudlovenick, however, that could soon
change. Coley-Sudlovenick, an Inuk-
Jamaican playwright born in Iqaluit,
runs Allurvik, a business created in
2021 to preserve Inuit culture. One
of Allurvik’s most significant services
is its online language lessons, where
Coley-Sudlovenick teaches Inuktitut
over Zoom. Some of her students are
non-Indigenous, but many are Inuk,

rd.ca 35

reader’s digest

Members of the
Klinse-Za herd

eager to reclaim a language they might focuses on habitat, reproduction and
never have known. “So much of our cul- managing predators. A recent survey
ture is gone,” Coley-Sudlovenick says. counted more than 100 Klinse-Za car-
“All we’re trying to do is bring those ibou in the area—a triumph for nature
parts of us back to life.” and nurture.

BACK FROM THE BRINK SURPRISE TIP REUTERS/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

32 In the mid-’90s, northeastern 33 Antigonish, N.S., taxi driver John
B.C. was home to a thriving MacLellan left about $1.7 mil-
population of almost 200 Klinse-Za lion to St. Martha’s Regional Hospital,
mountain caribou. But industrial the largest single donation in its history.
development of the animals’ natural
habitat caused the herd’s numbers to NORTHERN EXPOSURE
dwindle to fewer than 40 by 2013. In
response, two years later, the West 34 On the morning of May 10, 2022
Moberly and Saulteau First Nations Air North flight 4N823 took off
pledged to restore and steward the from Whitehorse and landed, later that
herd, starting a program in 2020 that night, at Toronto’s Pearson Interna-
tional Airport. This marked the very

36 november 2022

first scheduled flight between the two was kept as a control). Within the lab
capital cities and initiated what will setting, the experiment was a success,
now be, during the spring, summer marking the first step toward finding a
and early fall, twice-weekly direct ser- way for donor organs to be given to
vice between the north and the south. whichever patient needs them the most,
While the flight marked a milestone regardless of blood type.
of accessibility, it also heralded new
economic prosperity for the region’s ICE BREAKER
Indigenous community: 49 per cent
of Air North is owned by the Vuntut 38 A group of loggers in northern
Gwitchin First Nation. Ontario rescued a moose that
had fallen through the ice in February.

DINO MIGHT AMAZING MAZE

35 Basketball fans can once again 39 Artist HïMY SYeD is transform-
tailgate together after Jurassic ing public spaces in Toronto
Park, home of the Toronto Raptors, and Vancouver into fun play areas with
reopened this year. colourfully painted labyrinths.

GREEN DREAM COLD PLAY

36 A Toronto start-up, Flash For- 40 Last winter, Regina dad Jeremy
est, is using drone technology Ashworth, with help from his
to reforest vast areas after they’ve been family, built a three-and-a-half-metre
decimated—by harvest or wildfire. Its snowman in their front yard—taller
goal: plant one billion trees by 2028. than their house.

COURTESY OF JEREMY ASHWORTH SWITCH HIT

37 For potential organ-transplant
recipients, blood type can be
the difference between a successful
match and more time on the wait list.
But in early 2022, researchers working
at Toronto’s University Health Network
published a revolutionary new study
that might ensure better blood-type
odds for all transplant patients. The
team of scientists used an enzyme to
change the blood type from A to O in
one of two human lungs (the other lung

reader’s digest

RED ALL OVER REAL-LIFE SUPERHERO JOSHUA BEST

41 The salt we typically use to 45
clear ice during our frigid Cana-
dian winters wrecks our roads, wheels One morning last January,
and environment. Saint John, N.B., and 18-year-old Mississauga high
Toronto have helped pioneer a way to schooler Adam Attalla was in a
mitigate the damage, with an assist tutoring session when he
from Mother Nature. It turns out that smelled smoke: a neighbour’s
adding beet juice to road salt helps house was on fire. While head-
the de-icer stick in place—which, in ing to safety, Attalla realized
turn, means you can get away with that his neighbours—a family
using much less salt per application. with five young girls—were still
The solution is now being used by dif- in danger. Two of the girls had
ferent regions across the country, and escaped, but two more were
in parts of the American Midwest. stuck on the roof and another
in the house. Attalla ran next
MEDAL HEADS door, scrambled to the roof and
jumped on to the burning house.
42 More than 4,000 Canadians Possessed by what he later
have received Decorations for described as “superhuman
Bravery since the awards were created strength,” Attalla pulled one
50 years ago to honour exceptional girl free from a window and
acts of heroism. then helped everyone get down
safely. He would be later com-
TALK LIKE A DUCK mended by Prime Minister Jus-
tin Trudeau, but Attalla has a
43 That’s all folks—Canadian actor different kind of praise in mind:
Eric Bauza is the latest voice of “The only recognition I’d like is if
the iconic Looney Tunes characters Marvel could cast me in the next
Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Spider-Man movie,” he says.

ROUND TRIP

44 In 2011, Calgary’s Stewart Mid-
winter sustained serious inju-
ries while paragliding and was left
paralyzed from the neck down. A year
later, he snagged a special stationary
bike that gets his legs pedalling by
firing pulses through electrodes
hooked up to his muscles. Midwinter

38 november 2022



reader’s digest

has continually tracked his progress Canada’s largest Indigenous popula- COURTESY OF CBC; PHOTO TAKEN BY O’SHANE HOWARD AND ANDILE MTHEMBU
on the souped-up cycle, and on Feb- tions. In September 2021, it launched
ruary 2, 2022, he met the goal he’d set the Indigenous Medicine Program,
a decade earlier: cycling 40,075 kilo- which is built around Indigenous
metres, or the same distance it’d doctors and includes traditional med-
take to travel around the world. icines, plus a dedicated space for
Indigenous families. It’s a crucial step
FRONTLINE THANKS for the BCHS toward investing in cul-
turally competent care. As Dr. Karen
46 One Nelson, B.C., couple Hill, one of the leaders of the program,
donated over 300 restaurant says, it “allows Indigenous people to be
gift cards to their local hospital—one who they are in the healthcare system.”
for every single person who works there,
from nurses and doctors to adminis- BLACK TALENT BOON
trators and janitors.
50Canadian actors and brothers
BIRTHDAY GREETING Shamier Anderson and Stephan
James founded the Black Academy in
47 Children sent dozens of cards to 2020, driven by a shared desire to sup-
Second World War fighter pilot port and amplify Black Canadian ath-
Ernest Allen, surprising the veteran, letes, creators and performers, while
who turned 100 in January.

BUG’S-EYE VIEW Stephan James,
left, and Shamier
48 In 2019, the Montreal Insecta- Anderson
rium went into hibernation in
preparation for a $38.4-million “meta-
morphosis.” Today, it’s emerged from
its chrysalis, welcoming visitors into
a larger, loftier space of immersive
exhibits and human-sized riffs on
insect habitats. In one wing, butterflies
fly free through the air—all part of the
insectarium’s goal to “protect the plan-
et’s biodiversity.”

INDIGENOUS-LED HEALTH

49 The Brant Community Health-
care System’s hospital network
in southwestern Ontario serves one of

40 november 2022

also challenging systemic racism. In
September 2022, the organization cel-
ebrated the wealth and diversity of the
country’s Black talent with its inaugu-
ral awards show, the Legacy Awards,
which aired on CBC.

COURTESY OF DISNEY/PIXAR LAUGH A MINUTE Turning Red’s Mei
navigates Toronto.
51 After nearly 30 years, iconic
Canadian sketch-comedy show running amok. The first woman to solo-
The Kids in the Hall returned with the direct a feature for Pixar, Shi drew on
same cast and fresh gags. her personal experiences for this glo-
rious story about a Chinese-Canadian
FOOTLOOSE IDOL girl’s coming-of-age journey—and gave
viewers a chance to see parts of them-
52 Kamloops, B.C., singer and selves reflected onscreen.
American Idol contestant Cam-
eron Whitcomb brought epic perfor- PAGE TURNER
mances and plenty of fun to prime-
time TV—especially in a dance-off 54 Tanya Marie Lee created A Room
with judge Lionel Richie. of Your Own, a national book
club for low-income teenage girls. It
PANDA EXPRESS fosters a sense of community, a love
of reading and a safe space to discuss
53 Different people will seize on tough topics.
different moments in Domee
Shi’s animated feature Turning Red. PRAIRIE ICON
For some, it might be Toronto touch-
stones like the CN Tower and TTC 55 Saskatoon’s Harold Chapman,
streetcars; for others, T-shirts outside who turned 105 on April 27,
a vintage boutique in Kensington Mar- 2022, has used most of his many years
ket. Fans might gravitate toward Ming on the planet to benefit the greater
Lee, protagonist Mei’s intensely pro- good. After helping establish Saskatch-
tective mother, who, as voiced by Cana- ewan’s first co-operative farm in 1946,
dian icon Sandra Oh, defies stereo- he taught the benefits of that collabo-
types while nailing the nuances of rative model, both informally and as
immigrant parenting. Other viewers a representative of established co-op
might relate to Mei herself, whose
hormone-charged adolescent emo-
tions take the form of a red panda

rd.ca 41

associations. While his work earned ICE LEGEND THE CANADIAN PRESS/GRAHAM HUGHES
him countless accolades—he was made
a member of the Order of Canada at 58 Thousands of fans chanting
the age of 99 and was named Saska- “Guy! Guy! Guy!” packed into
toon’s citizen of the year in 2020— downtown Montreal to honour Cana-
Chapman has said his greatest satis- diens star player Guy Lafleur, who died
faction is rooted in knowing how of cancer at age 70 in April 2022.
many people he was able to educate
about the value of equity, community SIZE MATTERS
and collaboration.
59 Claire Theaker-Brown’s Unbelts
MIGHTY PEN is a rarity in the world of fashion.
The Edmonton biz is sustainable and
56 Prolific and outspoken author committed to employment equity. Even
Margaret Atwood was awarded better, it makes people feel good about
the Hitchens Prize for her commit- their bodies and their clothes. The
ment to free expression and inquiry. Unbelt itself is a deceptively simple
idea: a comfy not-quite-a-belt that is
WET AND WILD made to help cinch the waistband on
a range of different frames, including
57 In memory of his first love, Nova ones that fluctuate over time. By
Scotia’s Robert Perkins built a acknowledging the simple fact that
wetland wildlife sanctuary for herons, bodies change and introducing the
snapping turtles and beavers, smack in revolutionary idea that your clothes
the middle of the Halifax suburbs. can change with them, Theaker-Brown

42 november 2022

reader’s digest

NINA WESTERVELT reminds every customer that the things STORIES WE TELL
they wear shouldn’t make them feel
bad about themselves. 63 The child of refugees, Farhan
Umedaly has a deep under-
POOCH PARTY standing of colonization. His family
settled in Uganda while it was under
60 A canine hiking group in British rule, then fled the subsequent
Nanaimo, B.C., successfully dictatorship for Canada. Today, as an
photographed 55 dogs—balanced on adult in B.C., he runs a video-production
a log—to raise over $4,000 for people company. In 2017, Umedaly started
fleeing domestic violence and in need the Empowered Filmmaker Master-
of help caring for their pets. class, a free five-day, travelling film
school for Indigenous participants in
FUR WARNING which creators with no previous expe-
rience learn, start to finish, how to pro-
61 The non-profit Polar Bears Inter- duce videos. In its first year, 25 people
national has helped protect both signed up. This year, there were 100
people and polar bears with a “bear- participants. “I’m just bridging the
dar” in Churchill, Man. The radar gaps with technical equipment and
warns when polar bears are approach- knowledge,” says Umedaly. “Put a
ing Arctic communities, aiming to pre- camera in a person’s hand and they
vent conflict. feel like their voices have a platform—
they can lift up their communities with
A CASE OF YOU the stories they share.”

62 Joni Mitchell wowed audi- AFTER BURN
ences at the Newport Folk Fes-
tival, playing her first full set since 2000. 64 The B.C. Wildfire Service and
the Canadian Mental Health
Association started Resilient Minds, a
program to help protect the mental
health of firefighters on the front
lines of B.C. wildfires. It is now being
adopted across the country.

OUTWARD BOUND

65 Doctors can now prescribe
Parks Canada Discovery Passes
to help improve patients’ health through
spending time in nature.

rd.ca 43

reader’s digest

SKIN DEEP public statues in Canada honour GIZELLE PILLAY, COURTESY OF YWCA VANCOUVER
women, while 65 per cent depict men.
66 Heal in Colour started with Women and girls are invited to stand on
Tianna McFarlane’s quest to the empty statue base and strike a pose.
find a bandage that wouldn’t, well,
stick out like a sore thumb. During a POD PEOPLE
Toronto drugstore run in summer 2019,
McFarlane realized that her only wound- 68 Canadian company TransPod
care options were either pinky-beige is building an ultra-high-
or decorated with superheroes, nei- speed hyperloop transportation line
ther of which matched her own brown that can travel from Calgary to Edmon-
skin. McFarlane, now 32, studied oper- ton in 45 minutes.
ations management at Durham Col-
lege and decided to solve the problem QUEER EYE
herself. Just one year after launching,
Heal in Colour has sold more than 69 Montreal’s Jasmin Roy Sophie
10,000 boxes of bandages, and McFar- Desmarais Foundation, in
lane is planning to expand. response to an international wave of
discriminatory legislation, including
As part of her outreach, she worked Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” laws, created
with the Durham District School Board a guidebook for counsellors to better
and is connecting with other school support LGBTQ2+ youth.
boards, too. “A lot of teachers have sent
me positive feedback about how happy
their students are,” she says. For a kid
with a skinned knee to realize that their
bandage looks like their skin is a pow-
erful form of validation. Fighting anti-
Blackness, says McFarlane, can be as
simple as hospitals ordering products
for Black and Brown skin so that racial-
ized patients seeking care feel that
they’re in an environment where they’re
seen and celebrated for who they are.

RIGHTFUL PLACE

67 YWCA Metro Vancouver erected
a statue-less statue in the city,
dubbed “Reserved for Her,” to high-
light how only 12 per cent of permanent

44 november 2022

INDEPENDENT STREAK of 87—becoming the school’s oldest
graduate. She said she loved being on
70 It’s the 75th anniversary of campus, reading in the library and
the Canadian Citizenship Act. attending class like the “youngsters.”
Before the act was passed, we were
technically “British subjects domiciled RIGHTEOUS REPTILES
in Canada.” Today, more than 1,700 cit-
izenship ceremonies are held annually. 73 A crowd of inflatable dinosaurs
roamed Toronto this spring,
AWESOME ORBIT sparking joy in many people who were
lucky to spot the prehistoric sight.
71Sixty years ago, Canada designed,
built and launched its first space TRANS MISSION
satellite, becoming only the third coun-
try in the world to do so—after Russia 74 When Laur Bereznai arrived in
and the United States. Toronto from Berlin in Septem-
ber 2019, she felt like she was starting
GRAD GRANNY from scratch. “I didn’t have a lot of points
of connection with people,” Bereznai
72 Varathaledchumy Shanmuga- says. “I realized there was a real need
nathan proved it’s never too for community.” An idea was sparked.
late to try something new when she Bereznai, who is trans, hosted a group
earned her master’s degree in political video call in November 2019. That call
science from York University at the age led to a “digital party” on New Year’s
Eve, which laid the groundwork for
COURTESY OF YORK UNIVERSITY the TransPeerNetwork. After the pan-
demic hit, the network grew to some
800 active members worldwide who
provide one another with mental-health
support, advice and companionship.
“It’s important to have people around
you who are like you,” Bereznai says,
“who make you feel normal, whose
bodies look like yours.”

OUT OF SIGHT

75 Fifty-five years ago, a trio of
Canadian filmmakers invented
IMAX for Expo 67—forever changing
the way the world watches movies.

rd.ca 45

reader’s digest

INSPIRATION

We invited Canadians to share their fondest

BETWEEN
memories of Reader’s Digest. Here’s what the
THE
magazine has meant
LINES
to them over the past 75 years.
illustration by drew shannon
rd.ca 47

reader’s digest

My grandpa sold magazines, scary enough to prompt me to write
and beginning when I was my life story this year. Thank you to
four, my parents left them Reader’s Digest for raising me and
out for me to discover. I learned to pointing me in a positive direction.
sound out words from Reader’s Digest.
A sense of humour was a big deal in — JEAN MORBY
my household growing up, so my
favourite sections were Laughter, the In 1992, during my first year
Best Medicine and Life’s Like That. of college, I was over-
Now I’m in my early seventies and the whelmed and called my
real-life stories are still very inspiring grandma to tell her how I missed being
for me. Because all those people able to read what I wanted to for
shared their stories over the years with enjoyment. A few weeks later I received
your readers, it led me to realize that a brown envelope in the mail with a
every day is an adventure. I didn’t copy of Reader’s Digest and a five-
climb mountains or bungee jump, but dollar bill. There was a note included
the many experiences my husband that said, “Take a break, grab a tea and
and two sons had were difficult and enjoy the jokes, quips and stories. You
got this, my girl.” She gifted me a
year’s subscription that Christmas,
too. She passed away last year and
every time I see the magazine at the
library or in a bookstore, I remember
her and the gift of time she gave me.

— MIRANDA O’KRANE

When I got married in 1956, PORTRAITS SUPPLIED BY WRITERS.
I moved from Quebec City to
North Bay, Ont., with my
new husband, an officer in the Royal
Canadian Air Force. My mother paid
for my first subscription, the French-
language edition, because she was
worried that I would forget how to
speak the language. I’m now 91 years
old. We have travelled across Can-
ada from east to west and every
year I faithfully renew my sub-
scription. I switched to English for

48 november 2022