Literary Journalism and Feature Articles by Ivor Shapiro

Trust in “the media” is failing. But countries like Norway have found a way to keep it strong.

Setting limits on health care may be the only way to save it. What the rest of us could learn from a small American state that tried –  and failed – to tackle the toughest choices on medical costs By Ivor Shapiro With additional research by Ellen Lupu and Leigh Doyle The Walrus, November 2004 … Continue reading The End of Health Care (The Walrus)

A brief reflection on fatherhood By Ivor Shapiro (writing as Evan Vanovic) First published in the June 2001 issue of Today’s Parent. “I never thought I’d be this kind of father,” I said. The ordinary kind, I meant: the kind other sons have. Dads who play catch, who rough-house, who build forts. Building a backyard fort for Paul, … Continue reading Raising Fort Paul (Today’s Parent)

With the gunshots of Littleton and Taber echoing across the culture, we’re face-to-face with the pain that many boys grow up with–and express through violence. One father watches his own son–and tries to understand what kind of men we’re making. By Ivor Shapiro (writing as Evan Vanovic) First published in the August 1999 issue of Chatelaine © Ivor … Continue reading Boys Will be Men (Chatelaine)

A child deserves to be adored, but a parent’s love can be too much of a good thing. By Ivor Shapiro [as Evan Vanovic] Published in Today’s Parent (July 1999) On a night shortly before our son’s fourth birthday, we woke at around 2 a.m. to hear Paul screaming. We found him sitting up in bed, inconsolable at first. “Aiy, … Continue reading Too Much of a Good Thing (Today’s Parent)

I went to Project Turnaround–Ontario’s “boot camp” for young offenders–half expecting to find monsters and prison guards. Instead, I found children and caregivers. But the hard truth is that, for most of the kids I met, a life of crime is just beginning. By Ivor Shapiro published in Toronto Life, January 1999 From outside the … Continue reading High Fences (Toronto Life)

Dr. G. performs abortions. He’s one of a shrinking number of specialists willing to do so–no surprise in an age when abortion doctors are threatened and shot. What is surprising is that in his other work–delivering babies, mostly–he is also increasingly alone  By Ivor Shapiro Chatelaine, September 1998 © Ivor Shapiro This is not illegal, of … Continue reading Doctor of Choice (Chatelaine)

A profile of Canadian “tort man” Harvey Strosberg.   By Ivor Shapiro. Published in Maclean’s magazine, March 30, 1998.     NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS THE AUTHOR’S UNEDITED FINAL DRAFT. FACTS HAVE NOT BEEN DOUBLE-CHECKED, AND CHANGES WERE MADE IN THE EDITING PROCESS BEFORE PUBLICATION. “I’m prepared to recommend 1.6 million,” Harvey Strosberg, Q.C., tells … Continue reading The Rush to Sue (Macleans)

To present my son to my parents–each in a far corner of the world–meant to be recognized by them as someone new: a parent, an adult. I was circling the globe to close a circle inside me. By Ivor Shapiro (writing as Evan Vanovic) Published in Chatelaine magazine, September 1997 High above the dark South Pacific, my 10-month-old son … Continue reading Full Circle (Chatelaine)

DARKNESS [This is the prelude to What God Allows: The Crisis of Faith and Conscience in One Catholic Church by Ivor Shapiro (Doubleday, New York, 1996)] SATURDAY NIGHT, but the Sabres are playing away tonight and the War Memorial Auditorium, the “Aud” to the crowds who would otherwise be massing here, is deserted as a … Continue reading Book: What God Allows: The Crisis of Faith and Conscience in One Catholic Church (Doubleday, New York, 1996).