Best-selling Cape Breton author pens memoir offering insight into oil-camp life
An author and cartoonist from Mabou, N.S., is finding commercial and critical success with her new autobiography, “Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands.”
The New York Times best-selling graphic novel chronicles Kate Beaton’s life as she leaves her small Nova Scotia town to work in Alberta with hopes of paying down her student loan.
It’s a journey many Maritime families know well, but Beaton says she wanted to show the human side of an industry often overshadowed by political conversation.
“The images that we get that are of these gigantic machines and gigantic sites, and you forget that there are human beings in there,” said Beaton.
In writing the book, she wanted to bring in as many stories and perspectives as possible to try to show, and share, the full picture of what it is like to live in a work camp.
While a lot of Maritimers know what it’s like to work in a camp, either first or secondhand, not everyone in the country is as aware of the realities, she said.
“People fly in and fly out, they are distinctly removed from normal society,” said Beaton. “All of the issues that come with living there are cut off.”
A retelling of her time there as a young woman, she says the book is rife with instances of harassment. And, while not every man working in a camp is like that, “a few people who were that way is enough to ruin your day,” said Beaton.
“Bosses will tell you, ‘It’s a man’s world.”
She says, while working in camps from 2005 to 2008, conversations around mental health and substance abuse did not happen.
“There wasn’t any talk about how the isolation and loneliness and access to drugs and alcohol and everything like that affected the mental health of workers.”
Presenting her story in graphic form allowed her to better showcase the emotion and vast landscapes she wanted to portray, said Beaton.
“The way that people are with one another physically, it emotes the place in a way that you can’t do in prose.”
“Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands” is available on Amazon.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
New Norad commander calls Canada's defence policy update 'very encouraging'
American troops will be spending more time training in the Far North, the new commander of Norad says, a strategy that fits 'hand-in-glove' with Canada's renewed focus on Arctic defence.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Documents reveal Ottawa's efforts to get Loblaw, Walmart on board with grocery code
It was evident to the federal government as early as last fall that Loblaw and Walmart might be holdouts to the grocery code of conduct, jeopardizing the project's success.
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Madonna says her kids' 'enthusiasm' kept her going while on tour after 'near death' hospitalization
As Madonna approaches her 80th show on her 'Celebration' tour, she took a moment to appreciate how much her six children have helped her get to this point after being hospitalized last year before the tour began.