Jessica Mcdiarmid

This is a heartbreaking, difficult-to-read account of just some of the more than a thousand Indigenous women and girls who've gone missing or who have been found murdered along the so-called "Highway of Tears" in western Canada. Jessica McDiarmid does a good job of showing how the continual failure by the RCMP and the Canadian government to take these losses seriously is just one manifestation of a deeply ingrained racism against First Nations People in Canada. (For another, see all the show more horrific stories currently in the news about the excavation of literally hundreds of graves of Indigenous children in residential schools) Sometimes the transitions between the different parts of the narrative—from accounts of individual cases to contextualising the history of residential schools to interviewing former RCMP officers—are a little choppy. Still a very worthwhile if harrowing read. show less

This is fascinating and deeply disturbing. I had some general knowledge about the Highway of Tears from activists sharing information online, but I didn't have a good understanding of the whole picture. I think McDiarmid did some of the most thorough and dynamic writing about victims and families that I've ever read in a true crime style. This book makes sure that you know each girl or woman mentioned as individuals, who they were, how they grew up, their families, etc. and it centers them show more in the narrative, rather than perpetrators. It's heart-wrenching to read as the stories of each new individual stack throughout the story, but it also gives examples of their vitality and promise and loving relationships with families along with the deeply sorrowful losses.

I've seen several reviews complaining that this is disorganized, but I disagree. It's not exactly a linear story, but it's a book about a series of losses, investigations, and lives that overlap and intertwine in a variety of ways. I definitely recommend this if you're at all interested in true crime or want a better understanding of what the Highway of Tears actually is. show less

This was an honest and sad account of the missing and murdered indigenous women that have disappeared along a stretch of highway 16 and the families that have tried to get them justice.

I love the determination the families showed, trying to keep these cases front and centre and actually get police and the public to care about their missing family members. It is sad that they had to go to such great lengths to get people to care and that these cases are treated with indifference.

Highway of Tears: A True Story of Racism, Indifference, and the Pursuit of Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls is just that - a true story of the individuals and organizations involved with the Highway of Tears. The women and girls who have vanished or been murdered along 415 remote miles of Highway 16 coined as the Highway of Tears are so numerous and poorly investigated/documented (by officers involved and the community) that there isn't even a firm number on how show more many are connected to it. An exceedingly high number are Indigenous as well as exceedingly high rate of being unsolved. Author Jessica McDiarmid has done a fantastic (albeit difficult) job of combining, preserving and honoring the stories of the victims of the Highway of Tears for the current and future generations to read/witness.

This has been near continuous events spanning decades... DECADES. I'll fully admit that I wasn't aware of such a heart wrenching tale of so many compounding factors working against not only the victims but anyone working to find out what happened to them. I can't help but think of how this would have played out here in the States - I would like to think that it would have never been this tragically bad but I can't honestly answer that. I cannot even fathom what the families and communities have gone through this whole time and most have still received no definitive answers. I will say that until you have kids of your own you don't really understand the emotions that come with being a parent. Getting to know the stories of the victims through the family members and those closest to them really makes this book hit home.

This novel is HEAVY - both in sheer details, information and topic. It's a true crime novel that reads like a documentary. I think that if the chapters were more broken up to cover each victim it would have a more organized feel. I'm not sure if the captions for the photos just weren't in English in the copy that I received or if they were just place holders - I would've loved to know more about the pictures included in the novel. As I said earlier - this novel is heavy and it contains topics some people might be sensitive about. I would suggest this novel to people who enjoy documentaries, true crime and history. Thank you to Atria Books & NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and have my eyes opened to this extremely heart breaking reality. show less