'An exceptionally beautiful book' Carmen Maria Machado author of In the Dream House 'A vast
and complex tapestry that captures the humanity of people... it shimmers with grace.' Alison
Bechdel author of Fun Home Before there was Kate Beaton New York Times bestselling cartoonist
of Hark A Vagrant there was Katie Beaton of the Cape Breton Beatons a tight-knit seaside
community. After university Katie heads out west to take advantage of Alberta's oil rush part
of the long tradition of East Coast Canadians who seek gainful employment elsewhere when they
can't find it in the homeland they love so much. With the singular goal of paying off her
student loans what the journey will actually cost Katie will be far more than she anticipates.
Arriving in Fort McMurray Katie finds work in the lucrative camps owned and operated by the
world's largest oil companies. As one of the few women among thousands of men the culture
shock is palpable. It does not hit home until she moves to a spartan isolated worksite for
higher pay. Katie encounters the harsh reality of life in the oil sands where trauma is an
everyday occurrence yet never discussed. For young Katie her wounds may never heal. Beaton's
natural cartooning prowess is on full display as she draws colossal machinery and mammoth
vehicles set against a sublime Albertan backdrop of wildlife Northern Lights and Rocky
Mountains. Her first full length graphic narrative Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands is an
untold story of Canada: a country that prides itself on its egalitarian ethos and natural
beauty while simultaneously exploiting both the riches of its land and the humanity of its
people.
