Before there was Kate Beaton\, New York Times bestselling cartoonist of Hark! A Vagran t! fame\, there was Katie Beaton of the Cape Breton Beatons\, specifically Mabou\, a tight-knit seaside community where the lobster is as abundant a s beaches\, fiddles\, and Gaelic folk songs. Her first full-length graphic narrative follows Beaton after university as she heads out west to take a dvantage of Alberta&rsquo\;s oil rush\, part of the long tradition of East Coasters 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 Beaton will be far mor e than she anticipates.
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Arriving in Fort McMurray\, Beaton finds work in the lucrative camps owned and operate d by the world&rsquo\;s largest oil companies. Being one of the few women among thousands of men\, the culture shock is palpable. It does not hit ho me until she moves to a spartan\, isolated worksite for higher pay. She en counters the harsh reality of life in the oil sands where trauma is an eve ryday occurrence yet never discussed. Her wounds may never heal.
\nBeaton&rsquo\;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 Ro cky Mountains. Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands is more than a memoir\, i t&rsquo\;s also 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.
\nAbout the Author: Kate Beaton was born and raised in Cape Breton\, Nova Scotia\, Canada. After graduating from Mount Allison University with a double degree in History and Anthropology\, she moved t o Alberta in search of work that would allow her to pay down her student l oans. During the years she spent out West\, Beaton began creating webcomic s under the name Hark! A Vagrant\, quickly drawing a substantial following around the world. The collections of her landmark strip Hark! A Vagrant a nd Step Aside\, Pops each spent several months on the New York Times graph ic novel bestseller list\, as well as appearing on best of the year lists from Time\, The Washington Post\, Vulture\, NPR Books\, and winning the Ei sner\, Ignatz\, Harvey\, and Doug Wright Awards. She has also published th e picture books King Baby and The Princess and the Pony. Beaton lives in C ape Breton with her family.
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