★★★★★ 5
A both pragmatic and intimate window into the effects of economic displacement on the working class
Format: Kindle
Beaton's autobiographical account puts the reader into the position of a working class young person making the most practical economic decision for herself - and therefore exposing herself to the surreal realities that post-NAFTA capitalism and environmental crisis life have created for not only working class families in Canada, but to the lands and lifestyle they once loved and cherished.
In these pages that plainly display slice of life interactions without exaggeration or fanfare, the experience is natural and never preachy. Behind the grounded focus on day to day life, the economic system of worship of money over human-to-human relationships and human-to-nature relationships is the understated undercurrent. From that current rises the dust covered, inherently temporary, inherently not-treated-as-a-home, world of the oil sands and work camps and the psychology that they create, which Beaton unflinchingly examines.
I, too, chose to avoid the pit of student loans, but rather in the United States and by joining the US Army as a female soldier. These accounts would be very poignant to any female veteran, especially anyone who has been on a combat deployment. I highly recommend it.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2024
