Reader's Digest Canada

Canada's most read, most trusted magazine. Inspiring real-life stories, laugh-out-loud humour, and insightful articles about health, lifestyles, and truly remarkable Canadians, Reader's Digest touches your life and connects you to the world around you -- now that's "life well shared".

Merry All the Way

Readers Digest

CONTRIBUTORS

LETTERS

The Hang-Out • How a social program combats the isolation of LGBTQ2S seniors

GOOD NEWS FIVE REASONS TO SMILE

Creating a Safe Haven—with Books

Could Basic Income Really Work? • We quiz Hugh Segal, former senator

How to Choose the Right Charity • ’Tis the season of giving. Here are 14 non-profits that need your help.

POINTS TO PONDER

Digital Insurance 101 • In honour of Financial Literacy Month, take control of your insurance. It's easier than you think!

What You Need to Know About Dry Skin • Cold air, indoor heating and frequent handwashing might make this the itchiest winter ever

NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF MEDICINE

Out of Sight • Doctors couldn’t explain why he was going blind in one eye—until they looked behind it

Happy Holidays • This season has a way of beguiling the senses. Homes fill with the scent of gingerbread, trees twinkle with lights and we catch ourselves humming carols at the first sight of snow. Here are four heartfelt and magic-filled stories about our favourite time of year.

Around the Table • There’s no one right way to celebrate the holidays—and that’s what makes them memorable

Coffee for Santa • For our first December in Canada, my parents arranged a special surprise

The Storm That (Nearly) Stole Christmas • I was determined to bring my splintered family together for the best-ever holiday. Nature had other ideas.

Momtaz’s Basbousa • After we lost my father-in-law, my wife and I found solace at Christmas by cooking his favourite Egyptian dishes

AS KIDS SEE IT

THE ESCAPE • IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, HALF OF MIAMI’S 13-STOREY CHAMPLAIN TOWERS CONDO COLLAPSED. THROUGH CHAOS AND CARNAGE, THE SURVIVORS FOUND THEIR WAY TO SAFETY.

Constant Companions • The challenges of the pandemic reminded Canadians how much joy we get from our pets—and prompted a flurry of furry adoptions. We invited readers to tell us about their new family members. Here are some of our favourites.

STUFFED UP • To prove how important breathing through the nose is to our health, James Nestor voluntarily plugged his shut for 10 days. Here’s what happened.

HOW TO ENCOURAGE NOSE-BREATHING

“I Got One” • In 2017, Brayden Bushby hurled a trailer hitch at Barbara Kentner as she walked along a road in Thunder Bay. His trial would reopen the ugly history of violence against Indigenous people and test the limits of Canadian justice.

A History of You • How to write a memoir—and why you should

HIGH DEFINITION • I didn’t realize how much I was missing—until I had cataract surgery

LAUGHTER THE BEST MEDICINE

THE BEST JOKE I EVER TOLD

BROADWAY, BABY • How Winnipeg’s Andrea Macasaet finally nabbed the role of her dreams

SEASON’S GREETINGS

FROM the ASHES • In the spring of 2019, a fire nearly destroyed Notre-Dame de Paris. Now scientists are leading its restoration—and discovering new mysteries.

New Life for a Forest in the Sky

Family Matters • WHILE MY NANNY WAS HELPING RAISE ME, I RARELY THOUGHT OF HER OWN CHILDREN BACK HOME

THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS TREE • As kids, my brother and I had the bright idea to chop down a pine in our neighbour’s yard

LIFE’S LIKE THAT

SWITCHED • IN 1962, NURSES AT A SMALL NEWFOUNDLAND HOSPITAL SENT HOME TWO WOMEN WITH THE...