Journey for Justice
What works in this book? What does not Work? Why?
The book is easy to read and follow. McIntyre provides the reader with an abundance of background information about the case and the people involved in the case. I enjoyed reading the facts and learning about the Derksen family. This allows the reader to feel connected with the family adding to the overall experience.
Sometimes the book seems to drag on, especially with the actual court trial of Mark Grant and when Doctors diagnosed him. This was a bit lengthy at times and more work than leisure.
What can journalists learn from the book, the presentations or the case in general?
Journalists can learn a lot from McIntyre’s presentation. He talked about taking chances and that it never hurts to ask when you’re trying to get your hands on a story. He spoke confidently about what he did and was obviously content with the final product. He showed that journalists can help tell a larger story in the form of a novel and that this can be quite rewarding. It also teaches journalists that writing a novel is something you can do on the side of your regular journalistic duties and how the two of them can be combined in some cases.
How does this book compare to another non-fiction work in any medium?
I find this question a little tough to answer. I’m going to compare it to March of the Penguins which is narrated by Morgan Freeman. March of the Penguins is a video documentary that provides its viewers with everything they could have possibly wanted to know about the species of penguins. Not only are you amazed by the grueling life these penguins endure year and year out, but you come to garner a certain amount of respect for the species. As for Journey for Justice, the readers learn a lot about what happened to Candace Derksen and how the community initially reacted and continued to react over the years. Both are similar in that they are full of details, both have a beginning, middle and end. In both cases you gain respect for characters involved in the story and in Journey for Justices sake you gain distaste for Mark Grant.
I bet that if done right Journey for Justice could turn into a great movie.
How does it compare to other work by McIntyre, e.g. his stories in the Winnipeg Free Press?
Well I am not all that familiar with McIntyre’s work but after reading a few of his articles I can say that his story although professional is much more conversational. The opportunity he has to tell a story in a novel is greater than in a newspaper publication. His newspaper publications are heavily fact based and don’t seem to have the same human interest aspect that Journey for Justice has.
What was your reaction to the book and the presentations?
I was very happy to hear Wilma Derksen speak. She is a very upbeat and positive lady. I found McIntyre to be very passionate about his work and quite serious in nature. Wilma has a very soothing voice and said just the loveliest things about her daughter Candace. Hearing Wilma speak was refreshing because she demonstrated grace, sophistication and humbleness all at the same time.
The book was okay, I didn’t mind it but I generally don’t read much outside of the sports and political world. Crime stories have never been my thing; I do however enjoy the old episodes of Law& Order.
It was nice to read a story that I was familiar with its settings. It really adds to the experience because I know this community and understand where everything actually took place. This helped me visualize what I was reading.
