Stella

Meet Stella, an amazing toddler whose life – and death – brought together a community in love, laughter and grace. Stella’s parents welcomed Star journalist Catherine Porter into their lives at this shattering time to chronicle how one remarkable family and their community grappled with issues of deep concern to our society - the decisions we make around our living and our dying. Over the course of a year, family, friends and complete strangers worked together to give Stella a lifetime of experience. In doing so, they show us what is best about the human spirit. Poignant and life-affirming, Stella is a compelling read.

StarDispatches is a weekly subscription series of quality journalism in electronic form from the newsroom of the Toronto Star, Canada's largest newspaper.