Finding Hope by Edmond Gagnon
Finding Hope, The Highway of Tears, is a fictional depiction of a true real-life horror story. Every year hundreds of young aboriginal girls go missing, never to be seen again. Highway #16 stretches through a remote area in northern BC, along the Alaska border. This isolated area swallows these young innocents. Their bodies turn up rarely, and the locals have given up hope of the police ever finding their children. This is a thought-provoking look at a major social crisis.
Ed Gagnon tells us the story of Hope, a young aboriginal mother, who fled an abusive husband, and landed in this remote country, hoping to protect herself and her daughter. On her way from her job in Jasper, to her home and daughter in Stewart BC, Hope goes missing. Her new friend, Norm, a retired detective, takes time from his planned motorcycle trip, to try to find her. Reaching out to the RCMP, he realizes for the first time, the enormous scope of the problem of missing women. Rather than becoming overwhelmed with the problem, he is determined to use his investigation experience to find his new friend.
Engrossing plot, engaging characters, and superb imagery make this a hard story to put down. This well-written and timely account of a truly heart-wrenching problem, is well worth the read.
