I have been following Kate Beaton and Hark! A Vagrant when it was still a Livejournal blog. I have loved her work and felt a kinship to her comics for many years now. I read both her children’s books. I was excited to read this graphic memoirs which I know she had been working on for over six years.

I am glad that more have discovered her talent with this work. It took me a few months to get it from the library because of the long wait list due to it being listed for and winning Canada Reads.

This graphic novel hit me like a bus. I knew it would be somewhat tough because the topic of the oil sands has been fraught in Canada for many years. However, I did not expect the trigger warnings of sexual assault, sexual harassment, misogyny, depression, loneliness, exploitation, classism, and more. My mental health has not been as great this year so I’ve been more sensitive to triggers.