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Truth Be Told
Truth Be Told: My Journey Through Life and the Law | Beverley McLachlin
9 posts | 3 read | 3 to read
Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Beverley McLachlin offers an intimate and revealing look at her life, from her childhood in the Alberta foothills to her career on the Supreme Court, where she helped to shape the social and moral fabric of the country. As a young girl, Beverley McLachlins world was often full of wonderat the expansive prairie vistas around her, at the stories she discovered in the books at her local library, and at the diverse people who passed through her parents door. While her family was poor, their lives were rich in the ways that mattered most. Even at a young age, she had an innate sense of justice, which was reinforced by the lessons her parents taught her: Everyone deserves dignity. All people are equal. Those who work hard reap the rewards. Willful, spirited, and unusually intelligent, she discovered in Pincher Creek an extraordinary tapestry of people and perspectives that informed her worldview going forward. Still, life in the rural Prairies was lonely, and gaining access to educationespecially for girlswasnt always easy. As a young woman, McLachlin moved to Edmonton to pursue a degree in philosophy. There, she discovered her passion lay not in academia, but in the real world, solving problems directly related to the lives of the people around her. And in the law, she found the tools to do exactly that. She soon realized, though, that the world was not always willing to accept her. In her early years as an articling student and lawyer, she encountered sexism, exclusion, and old boys clubs at every turn. And outside the courtroom, personal loss and tragedies struck close to home. Nonetheless, McLachlin was determined to prove her worth, and her love of the law and the pursuit of justice pulled her through the darkest moments. McLachlins meteoric rise through the courts soon found her serving on the highest court in the country, becoming the first woman to be named Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. She rapidly distinguished herself as a judge of renown, one who was never afraid to take on morally complex or charged debates. Over the next eighteen years, McLachlin presided over the most prominent cases in the countryinvolving Charter challenges, same-sex marriage, and euthanasia. One judgment at a time, she laid down a legal legacy that proved that fairness and justice were not luxuries of the powerful but rather obligations owed to each and every one of us. With warmth, honesty, and deep wisdom, McLachlin invites us into her legal and personal lifeinto the hopes and doubts, the triumphs and losses on and off the bench. Through it all, her constant faith in justice remained her true north. In an age of division and uncertainty, McLachlins memoir is a reminder that justice and the rule of law remain our best hope for a progressive and bright future.
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Lindy
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The endpapers show Beverley McLachlin‘s path from growing up in a log cabin in the Alberta foothills to being the longest serving Chief Justice on the Supreme Court of Canada. She proved her Grade 8 teacher wrong; the woman told her she had no useful abilities for the working world. An inspiring memoir that looks not only at a remarkable life, but the many important judicial decisions in the wake of the Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms.

DGRachel I love a book with beautiful endpapers! 😍 3y
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Lindy
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In my first year on the Supreme Court of BC, an elderly judge offered me a few tips on how to succeed. One of them related to judgement writing. “Fudge it up,” my mentor advised. “The Court of Appeal won‘t be able to overturn you because they won‘t be able to figure out what you said.”
I was too polite to contradict him, but I have never followed his advice. Litigants & the public were entitled to a judgment they could understand.

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Lindy
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Teaching law energized me. It was hard work, but my love of the law & the creative act of teaching carried me on. Along the way, I absorbed an important truth about life—perfection was unattainable. I developed a revised set of self-directives: Accept imperfection. Embrace risk. Have the courage to fail & the strength to pick yourself up & start over.

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Lindy
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The Pincher Creek Municipal Library saved my life. Or so it seems to me now. Would I have survived without it? Probably. Would I have grown up to be the person I am without it? Most certainly not. In the pages of those books, I learned new ways of writing and thinking and feeling and being. And I discovered new worlds far away from my provincial little town in the foothills of southern Alberta.

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emilycoc
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Excellent read! There were some parts I felt she glossed over - law school, when she taught law - but overall, this humanized Justice McLachlin for me. Very enjoyable read.

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emilycoc
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Laughed right out loud when I read this. What a great little story.

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emilycoc
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Another snowy Sunday (second one in a row!) means being holed up inside with my book and a cider! (Pictured here is my textbook though, not my pleasure read).

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emilycoc
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Happy Friday! It's been a long first week back to work. I haven't done a lot of pleasure reading (been focusing on getting into a routine, work, and reading my textbook for school), so I am excited to unwind with a pleasure read tonight! (And a school read too - trying to keep up 😜🤓) #whatiread #textbook #nonfiction #tbr

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emilycoc
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Happy 2020, everyone! Starting off my new year with TWO reads - one for work/school (buried below) and one for pleasure. Pleasure read will be Chief Justice McLachlin's memoir, gifted to me from my mother.
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Also, I plan to actively keep track of how many books I read in 2020 using this app and hashtags! #nonfiction #autobiography #memoir #whatiread #bookoneof2020