Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands

Becky is Katie’s older sister who studied science. As the oldest, Becky considers herself the guardian of her younger siblings, the one to sacrifice and protect the others. Although Katie is the first to arrive in the oil sands and is therefore protective of Becky and Lindsay when they first arrive in Long Lake, Becky perceives the changes in Katie and realizes what happened to her and supports her recovery. In this way, while Becky doesn’t guard Katie the way she initially expects to (preventing trauma rather than recovering from it), her solidarity helps Katie heal.

Although Becky is sad when Katie moves to Victoria because she doesn’t want them to be apart, she realizes the necessity of the change. Similarly, when the sisters reunite after Katie returns to the oil sands, Becky appreciates their reunion but mourns its necessity. The strongest bond in the book, their relationship is characterized by both a familial bond and the solidarity of experiencing the same trauma. Their bond remains strong at the end of the book as they share experiences that others don’t understand, even if they can’t explain the effects of these experiences. In the Afterword, Beaton mentions that Becky was the first person she told about this book, and she wishes she were alive to read it.

Lindsay is Katie’s friend from university who joins her at Long Lake and later, at Albian Sands. She studied journalism and befriended Katie through working for the school newspaper together. She becomes one of Katie’s main supports in the oil sands as a trusted female friend. Like Becky, Katie and Lindsay’s bond is deepened by their shared experiences with sexual trauma.

Katie and Lindsay remain close, especially at Albian Sands, where they encourage each other’s creative pursuits to speak out about their experiences in the oil sands. They also comfort each other when they receive negative backlash. Lindsay also becomes someone with whom Katie can make dark jokes about health and safety, another method of sharing trauma and experiences. Katie also envies Lindsay when she leaves for graduate school. In this sense, Lindsay and Katie care for each other and support each other in ways no one else can, due to their shared past and their shared interests. Theirs is an essential relationship in surviving the oil sands’ harsh environment.

Ryan is Katie’s direct supervisor at Albian Sands and, debatably, the best boss she has out of all of them. He can be gruff, but he also has a sense of humor and asks Katie’s advice about women, even if he doesn’t actually follow it. By the time Katie returns to the oil sands, they have a similar level of cynicism toward the industry they work for, which increases their compatibility. He is also uncomfortable, if accepting, of Katie’s decision to openly display her tampons as an act of rebellion. A foil to most of the men in the memoir, Ryan respects Katie and doesn’t objectify her, even if he also struggles with gendered expectations for men.

Katie grows increasingly concerned about Ryan as his mental health worsens. While she never learns the full story and only puts elements together as she learns them, Ryan becomes a key example of the negative impacts of the oil sands on men. Separated from his family, he is divorced from his wife and seeks comfort in other women. He distrusts or disapproves of company mental health services, and his worsening job performance and eventual disappearance may be indicative of drug use, a mental crisis, or both. The lack of answers about Ryan’s fate is unsettling and highlights that this is an ongoing problem with no existing solutions. With this, Ryan represents The Dangers of Isolation, Transience, and Loneliness for male oil sands workers.