What do you do when you’re dealt a devastating blow? We all have our own coping strategies for handling hardship. Mine involves a combination of writing, walking and communing with people I love. For bestselling Canadian author Claire Cameron, the way to feel most resilient and joyful—under challenging circumstances or otherwise—is to be outside. Climbing rock faces, scaling glaciers, paddling a canoe across bright water; moving through the day’s glory has been her soul medicine ever since recovering from the death of her father. He died at age 42 of melanoma.
But when Claire was diagnosed with melanoma herself at age 45—as well as a rare genetic condition that limits her body’s ability to fight cancer cell growth—doctors advised she limit her UV exposure to none, putting a sudden and saddening end to her days of being active outside under sunny skies. The thing that had always helped her feel alive had become the very thing that would make her devastating health diagnosis worse.
As she wrote about in the New York Times, the years since her diagnosis have been a picture of resilience. Navigating constant unknowns, with a looming threat of uncertain health, Claire Cameron reminds us—in her attitude, in her bestselling book How To Survive A Bear Attack, and in this wonderful interview—that everything we ever need or want is right here in the present.
This week’s Unknown:
It’s pretty hard to avoid thinking about the ongoing unknown of Canada’s future this week. July 1 is a national holiday in Canada, my home on native land. Canada Day marks the anniversary of our Confederation, and celebrates the nation becoming a self-governing dominion. ‘Self-governing’ is an idea that many Canadians born in peace time have always taken for granted—until very recently. American imperialism suddenly feels ominous and real. Canada Day celebrations this year might feel different; the rallying around the flag infused with more gravitas in light of ongoing threats and punishing tariffs from President Trump.
A forthcoming book of essays in response to this moment that threatens our national identity
I’m relieved that the waving of a Canadian flag now feels reclaimed from those who once hijacked the national symbol in anger and intolerance, spouting divisive and unhelpful anti-government rancour. I also remain cautious. I don’t know how political maneuvers implemented in the name of self-reliance will play out; my hope is that we are careful of what we do in the name of Canada.
This week’s Love Affair:
I had the pleasure of writing a guest post this week for The Creativity Guild, a newsletter for people looking to bolster creative passions after leaving them untended for too long.
I wrote about making art as a love affair with the unknown; about how going through the hell of long Covid taught me so much about being okay with not being okay. And about the freedom—artistic and otherwise—that offers up. I’m super grateful for the creative crew behind that newsletter for inviting me to be part of their community.
Onward—something to consider:
Claire Cameron talked in our interview about having to find new ways to be in the world; it was only once her beloved habit of canoeing on open water was taken off the table that she discovered her love of hiking and exploring the land. I am constantly inspired by those who think outside the box, who use their ingenuity and summon the grit to find a new way around a problem. It often takes a hardship or a setback of some sort to force us into a more creative attitude, another way I like to reframe uncertainty.
What is something you love and appreciate in your life that you might never have discovered were it not for some kind of challenge or difficulty that forced you to look at life differently?
That’s your prompt for this week. I’d love to hear from you in the comments or in the chat.
Thank you, as ever, for reading. And for listening!
Gill
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