Our top 5 stories of 2023

It’s 2024! Whether your New Year’s celebrations were quiet or raucous, the past few days have offered the opportunity to celebrate the good things that happened in 2023, evaluate the tough spots, and reconcile what we’d like to do differently in the year ahead.

For Jen Stewart and me, 2023 was jam-packed with activity – including the launch of this new The Honest Talk digital platform, and you – dear reader – have been an essential and much-valued part of that journey.

Whether you’ve been with us since the beginning when we launched our podcast back in 2020, or whether you’re a new recruit to this site, we’re so grateful to have you as a part of this growing community for women. 

And we’ve got a big year ahead! We remain committed to bringing you impactful, honest essays written for and by women, along with interesting and entertaining curated articles on topics ranging from health to politics, culture to finances, and everything in between.

But for now, let’s take a look back at the top five articles that piqued your interest (and reaction!) on this site in 2023. They are five entirely different topics, but they resonated with so many of you, proving that women have a wide array of diverse experiences – some of which we’ve been reluctant to share publicly over the years. That’s what this site is designed to do: share stories, share experiences, be honest – and these five articles are clear examples of that:

Navigating women’s health: my unexplained bleeding — Megan Shaw’s story

When former CTV reporter and anchor Megan Shaw found herself dealing with heavy, unexplained bleeding, she initially blamed stress. But when it became unmanageable (including forcing her to camouflage her bleeding on live television) she knew she had to take action. Megan began a journey of self-advocacy, leading to her diagnosis and surgery, and she now champions other women to stand up for themselves when their health is at risk.

Kate Graham asked more than 50 women to run for office, and almost all of them said no. Here’s why

As someone who has thrown her hat into the political ring on more than one occasion, Dr. Kate Graham knows all about the barriers facing women who choose to run for office – that’s if they even decide to take the electoral plunge in the first place. She’s asked almost 50 women to put their name on a ballot, and all of them have said no– an experience she wrote about it in this article, which definitely hit a nerve with our audience. 

Why I left my dream job — Nicole MacAdam’s story

The pandemic took a toll on everyone, but it hit some people especially hard, including women working in newsrooms. Nicole MacAdam built a successful career in journalism that saw her land as editor of the Financial Post, and then Editor-in-Chief of The Ottawa Citizen.

But COVID, slashed workforces, skyrocketing workloads, and the public vitriol stemming from Ottawa’s convoy occupation, saw Nicole’s health and wellbeing at risk. She details her heartbreaking – but lifesaving – decision to leave her dream job behind, and shares her reflections on Canada’s changing media landscape.

I can’t stop thinking about Leslie Horton’s spontaneous clapback to a vicious viewer email on live TV

Annette Goerner knows what it’s like to be under the microscope. As a former long-time CTV journalist and anchor, Annette received her fair share of invasive and inappropriate viewer comments. And that’s why she cheered from the sidelines – then sat down at her computer to share her own thoughts – when she saw the brave, unscripted on-air reaction of Global TV Calgary traffic reporter Leslie Horton to a vicious viewer email. Based on the number of hits this article received from our readers, Annette’s piece clearly hit home.

I kicked imposter syndrome to the curb. Here’s why you should, too

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our The Honest Talk podcast guests, it’s that imposter syndrome doesn’t respect your title or experience. CEOs, entrepreneurs, and political leaders have all shared how imposter syndrome has plagued them at various stages of their careers, which is probably why this article from leadership coach and former non-profit leader Deirdre Freiheit – who shares how she kicked imposter syndrome to the curb – was one of our most-read articles of 2023.

by Catherine Clark

Catherine Clark is a nationally respected broadcaster, emcee, and co-founder of The Honest Talk.

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