Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton

19 reviews

displacedcactus's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

I feel like most people already realize this, but just in case, I want to make something clear: Do NOT pick up Ducks expecting something as silly and witty as Hark! A Vagrant or Beaton's picture books. This is a very serious memoir about the author's time working in Alberta's oil sands, at job sites where the men sometimes outnumbered the women 50 to 1, people worked long hours, and were cut off from family and friends back home.

This is both a personal memoir, and a statement about the overall human toll of the oil sands -- not just the harassment that Beaton experienced, but what the other women on site experienced, the addiction and mental illness among the crews, the priority of profits over true safety, and of course, the environmental impact. The titular "ducks" are hundreds of birds who died in a tailing pond. The Indigenous population of the area has to contend with polluted water and air, among other issues.

Beaton approaches the subject with a certain amount of nuance, but this is still a difficult read. Make sure to check out the CWs before you read this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Alcohol, and Drug abuse

Minor: Racism and Suicidal thoughts

The SA/rape are not depicted on page, but the lead up to them is, and they are discussed often (not in detail of what happened, but the emotional impact).

meghanreads00's review

funny informative sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Death, Bullying, Alcoholism, and Addiction

jskreading's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Racism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, and Addiction

thirdtimesacharm's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Drug use, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

chameleonhound's review

emotional

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Colonisation, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Death

l1brarygirl's review

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual harassment and Rape

Minor: Drug abuse, Animal death, Car accident, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, and Drug use

isbees's review

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Rape, Sexual harassment, Racism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Stalking, and Drug abuse

hayleymunro's review

reflective tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Animal death

Moderate: Mental illness, Cancer, Drug abuse, Classism, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Misogyny, Addiction, Death, and Colonisation

carlar's review

challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

This was a really tough read due to the subject matter and the fact that it happened to one of my favorite webcomic artists back in high school. I already knew about her sister passing away when she published an article about how her sister's death could have been prevented, but to know that she also struggled with all this was heartbreaking, especially since her sister never got to read it. 

It took me longer than I expected to finish it because the casual misogyny, although interspersed with humor, was relentless and you end up feeling like this could have easily happened to you (if you're a woman and haven't already dealt with it before). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Sexism

Moderate: Racial slurs, Death, Racism, and Genocide

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Animal death

gailcooksandreads's review

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Infidelity