is the design columnist for Toronto Life magazine and writes travel pieces for the New York Times. In addition, she gives architectural tours of Southern Ontario towns and puts her Ph.D in English literature to good use by giving lectures on contemporary novels and appearing regularly on CBC Radio’s The Arts Today to discuss classic Canadian novels. On her book The Mourner’s Dance: When her daughter’s fiancé died suddenly, Katherine Ashenburg was surprised to see how her daughter intuitively re-created the traditional rituals of mourning, even those of which she was ignorant. Intrigued, Ashenburg began to explore the rich and endlessly inventive choreographies different cultures and times have devised to mark a universal and deeply felt plight.