Home and community

The summer issue is my favourite one to put together. It's a refreshing blend of so many of my much-treasured things; the season, the décor and the casual al fresco style of entertaining - plus the fact that the publication of this issue miraculously coincides with the time I pack up my car and head to our cottage on the coast of Maine!

Our cottage is a doors-wide-open kind of place where we entertain in a relaxed, easy style, in a space designed to take comfort in the time I share with my family and friends.

The lifestyle you create from your home, whether it's in your year-round residence or a vacation retreat, is often happenstance. We don't always take the time to reflect on the significance of the sanctity and comforts of the place we call home, but every once in a while life makes you stop and think . . .

A friend of mine suffered a tragic loss within her family. And, in my role as the editor of a magazine, I prepared to tell her story on the pages that I help pull together. This really made me think on many levels, but professionally I wanted to be careful that we did this with humility. I will admit that this task was made much easier by the incredibly soulful spirit that radiates from the Richardson family with their ability to open the doors to their home and talk about 14-year-old Daron Richardson's death from suicide and the need to break the silence surrounding this illness.

It's nothing less than awe-inspiring that Stephanie, Luke and Morgan Richardson were able to create a home environment that welcomed people in to share their grief and help them heal. I hope that Catherine Clark's Giving Back feature helps readers to stop and think of the importance of opening up the discussion of mental illness within their families and simply opening up their homes to whatever needs to come inside.