Raising a child off the grid

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by modern life: the pinging of phone notifications, the noise of city life, the omnipresence of bright artificial lights. I allow myself to dream of an alternative universe in which I live in harmony with nature, off the grid and far away.

But there is no way I could hack it. That’s what I concluded when reading the harrowing memoir of Charlotte Morritt-Jacobs, a video journalist who lives with her husband in a log cabin on a lake 40 minutes north of Yellowknife. Everything about their lives takes extreme effort. Their electricity comes from solar panels on the cabin’s roof (and, in the depths of winter, occasionally a backup Honda generator). They trap their own rabbits to eat and collect wild chamomile for tea.

For Maclean’s, she writes enthusiastically about the joys of her lifestyle, though she admits it can sometimes be treacherous. The couple recently had a baby—I won’t spoil the story, but let’s just say it involves a trip to the mainland in the spring while the ice was thawing using a canoe, a skidoo and an ice-measuring device.

—Sarah Fulford, editor-in-chief

“The average human lifespan has gained 25 years in the last century, thanks in large part to our ability to treat infections,” writes McMaster professor Gerry Wright in this essay for Maclean’s Year Ahead issue. But bacteria are developing resistance to antibiotics, and we’re discovering fewer and fewer antibacterial drugs. We’re now dealing with superbugs, Wright says—and if we lose the fight against them, they could kill more people than cancer.

The federal government will apply pressure to skyrocketing grocery prices, while food banks will struggle to keep up with demand. Canadians will have more options for sustainably grown meat but fewer pickings for pasta—and less interest in any wine to pair with it. From our Year Ahead issue, check out the biggest upcoming food stories here.

Canada’s men’s basketball team will make its first Olympic appearance since 2000, and soccer superstars are building our first women’s pro league. Pickleball’s popularity isn’t dying down anytime soon—but Hockey Canada remains on the rocks. Read our top 10 predictions for the year ahead in sports.

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