This story was included in our November 2023 issue, devoted to some of the best writing The Walrus has published. You’ll find the rest of our selections here.
It is human nature to want a tragic accident to mean something. Drew Nelles, a former senior editor at The Walrus, offers a counterpoint in this memoir about his long-time close friend Dan Harvey, whose spinal injury in grade eleven left him paralyzed. In gorgeous, tender prose, Nelles questions the belief that Harvey’s suffering holds any “cosmic truth,” or that his friend is here to teach us “something about the value of human existence.” The push to redefine the assumptions around disability has, in the decade since this piece was published, continued to change our language too. In some cases, person-first language—“person with disabilities” instead of “disabled person”—may be preferred. “Body and Soul,” which initially emerged at the literary journalism program at the Banff Centre, went on to receive a National Magazine Award honourable mention. Today, Harvey lives in London, Ontario, with his wife and child, where he runs City Lights Bookshop. —Harley Rustad, senior editor, November 2023
