Contributors’ Notes

carolyn abraham

“Your Brain on covid-19,” p. 20

“If, in a year from now, I look back on life during the age of covid-19, I would like to explore how it has changed us. The fear of physical closeness with one another is a shame and yet completely rational in the context of this pandemic. I also think there will be a fundamentally deeper sense of gratitude for simple pleasures in our lives — sitting beside strangers watching a ball game or having dinner with friends at a restaurant.”

Carolyn Abraham is a Toronto-based science journalist and author. The Globe and Mail’s former medical reporter, she covered the sars outbreak and gave birth to her first child while under quarantine.

carolyn thompson

“Point of No Return,” p. 26

“To tell the story of climate change and displacement, I chose to focus on Somali refugees in Dadaab, Kenya. I’ve worked on refugee stories for a long time, and generally, the first thing a lot of refugees say is, ‘If there’s peace in my country, I’ll go home.’ They care about their land. But, for a lot of Somali communities that have been displaced because of the climate crisis, this is changing — there’s no longer anything left for them at home.”

Carolyn Thompson is a freelance journalist who covers refugees, conflict, and corruption. Her work has been published by the cbc, Al Jazeera, and the Washington Post.

lindsay jones

“Murder in Old Barns,” p. 36

“I was driving to an assignment when I heard on the radio that the Nova Scotia government was offering a $150,000 reward for tips leading to an arrest for a murder that, at the time, was around twenty-five years old. The province does this with lots of unsolved murders. I looked up old articles and reached out to the victim’s family members. One of them got back to me and said he’d been waiting for somebody like me — a reporter without a deadline who wanted to look into this story. And that was my starting point.”

Lindsay Jones is a freelance journalist based in Halifax. She writes for Maclean’s, the Globe and Mail, and the cbc. Her work has also appeared on topic.com.

salini perera

Illustration for “Stand-up’s Next Act,” p. 61

“I grew up listening to a lot of stand-up comedy. But most of the comedians were white men, and we had to try to empathize with their experiences and understand their perspectives. Now, with greater diversity in the stand-up scene, there’s a level of specificity that wasn’t there before. There are comedians who look like me and talk about experiences I’ve actually had. Suddenly, something is for us.”

Salini Perera’s work has been published by the Globe and Mail, Reader’s Digest, and the cbc. She illustrated her first children’s book, a biography of Madam C. J. Walker, last year.

judy ziyi gu

“Distant Threat,” p. 66

“I’ve worked in newsrooms and have had to follow the news even when it was emotionally challenging. My reaction was always to protect myself, and sometimes that meant deliberately ignoring certain stories when I knew they were going to be difficult to process. Writing this essay about my initial response to the spread of covid-19 made me realize that, to be prepared for times of instability, you have to consume the news and you have to be aware of what’s happening to other people. Maybe my own mental well-being isn’t always the most important thing.”

Judy Ziyi Gu is a digital producer at cbc Podcasts and the former digital manager at The Walrus.