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Thick Skin: Field Notes from a Sister in the Brotherhood
THICK FIELD NOTES FROM A SISTER IN THE BROTHERHOOD, is a deep dive into the secret language and hidden culture of one of the most esoteric heavy construction Boilermaking. For more than two decades, Hilary Peach worked as a transient welder--and one of the only women-- in the Boilermakers Union. Distilled from a vast cache of journals, notes, and keen observations, Thick Skin follows Peach from the West Coast shipyards and pulp mills of British Columbia, through the Alberta tar sands and the Ontario rust belt, to the colossal power generating stations of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. At times edging up to the surreal, Thick Skin is a collection of strange stories carefully told, in tenderness and ferocity, for anyone who has spent time in a trade, or is curious about the unseen world of industrial construction. Literary Nonfiction. Essay. Women's Studies.
- GenresNonfictionMemoirCanada
314 pages, Paperback
Published December 30, 2022
6 people are currently reading
240 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 6, 2023
Having worked in colleges that offered trades programs, I have always rooted for the women that I have seen working their way through such programs. In this collection of stories from various jobs throughout her career, Peach speaks to her experiences of working in male-dominated fields and how she was often told to develop a thick skin to make it as a welder. I wasn't surprised by many of the struggles that she faced, but was still excited to see her overcome them in her own was.
Overall, this is a great book for anyone who is interested in learning more about women welders or women in trades. The end hinted at a subtle shift in the misogynist culture, and I hope that it continues to shift in the future.
3.5
Overall, this is a great book for anyone who is interested in learning more about women welders or women in trades. The end hinted at a subtle shift in the misogynist culture, and I hope that it continues to shift in the future.
3.5
April 30, 2023
Great read. Satisfied my curiosity about this trade. Her insights into people and companies were eye opening. What an amazing woman! So glad she shared her experiences in such a thoughtful way.
January 31, 2023
This books is like having the best conversation with a good friend. The stories are vivid, funny, insightful, and a window into a world few of us know or would ever see. Peach's storytelling skill draws you in, like you're having a conversation, and she balances sharp observation, cunning insight, and surprising compassion and kindness. This isn't a diatribe against men, its the real story of real people, some of whom are curious, some helpful, some kinda shitty. Peach is humble with her own growth and learning, and it's a treat to walk with her as she gains skill, confidence, and the kind of experience and earned respect that comes with just sticking with it.
This is a fast, fun read that made me come away with a whole new understanding of a world I'd never experienced, the challenges faced by women, but also by men, and the power of smarts, savvy, and humor. Peach is the best possible guide into the world of welders, and a perfect changemaker of a boilermaker.
This is a fast, fun read that made me come away with a whole new understanding of a world I'd never experienced, the challenges faced by women, but also by men, and the power of smarts, savvy, and humor. Peach is the best possible guide into the world of welders, and a perfect changemaker of a boilermaker.
June 20, 2024
Thick Skin is a collection of anecdotes and musings by a woman who worked for more than two decades as a boilermaker. In case you don’t know, that’s a dirty, dangerous, and daunting profession. It’s a job that regularly takes the worker away from home for weeks and months. I’m glad there are people who will do this work, but it’s never been on my career bucket list.
Peach writes vivid scenes – some of the accommodations she describes made my skin crawl – and many of the happenings on the job and off are gritty and engrossing.
The camaraderie the author shared with supportive union brothers was powerful, as were the malevolent dealings she had with other individuals. One fellow read like a character out of a Steven King novel. His struggles with mental health were terrible for him and horrifying for his co-workers. Peach went toe-to-toe with him in a scene that was both tragic and comical.
Although the subject of Thick Skin is serious, there are many laugh-inducing moments. Humour, both dry and laugh-out-loud, is sprinkled through the text.
A minor frustration I had with this book was – when did this episode happen? – which was occasionally unclear. The timeline wasn’t linear, and didn’t need to be, but a few of the stories had me wondering if they happened early in her career or later in her career.
Above all, this was a satisfying read. I learned stuff and I felt stuff. You don’t have to be interested in the trades to enjoy this book. It’s about people.
Peach writes vivid scenes – some of the accommodations she describes made my skin crawl – and many of the happenings on the job and off are gritty and engrossing.
The camaraderie the author shared with supportive union brothers was powerful, as were the malevolent dealings she had with other individuals. One fellow read like a character out of a Steven King novel. His struggles with mental health were terrible for him and horrifying for his co-workers. Peach went toe-to-toe with him in a scene that was both tragic and comical.
Although the subject of Thick Skin is serious, there are many laugh-inducing moments. Humour, both dry and laugh-out-loud, is sprinkled through the text.
A minor frustration I had with this book was – when did this episode happen? – which was occasionally unclear. The timeline wasn’t linear, and didn’t need to be, but a few of the stories had me wondering if they happened early in her career or later in her career.
Above all, this was a satisfying read. I learned stuff and I felt stuff. You don’t have to be interested in the trades to enjoy this book. It’s about people.
November 30, 2023
This review was originally commissioned by BC Bookworld for their Spring 2023 edition. It is my pick for "Favourite Memoir of the Year."
This is a wonderful memoir by a remarkable writer and human being about her experiences as a welder and member of the Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers, Union Local 191. For two decades after completing her training in B.C., Hilary Peach worked mostly as a travel card welder. This meant responding to call-outs for skilled workers urgently needed at big projects like pulp mills, chemical plants, refineries and generating stations elsewhere. Off to Montana, Pennsylvania, Fort McMurray, Port Alice, Chetwynd, Nova Scotia, Prince George and Skookumchuk she went, constantly refining her skill set, learning from the best welders in the trade as well as dealing with the toxic and hazardous ones.
It is not explained exactly how she became interested in welding or learned she had an aptitude for metalwork with good eye-hand co-ordination, not to mention mental and physical toughness, fearlessness when working at dizzying heights or in cramped enclosed spaces. Or how she acquired the endurance needed for working in severe cold or heat for 10-13 hour days for weeks at a stretch. There is no mention of big brothers or a handy Dad with a workshop but her kind and thoughtful mother seemed fully supportive of her endeavours. So was a renowned instructor, Denby Nelson, at the former Malaspina College in Nanaimo who must have recognized a kindred spirit, a renegade artist needing a way to make excellent wages to finance her Gulf Island acreage plans and creative collaborations with other artists.
But when Hilary Peach set out, in her early thirties in the early 2000’s, with her TIG ticket (Tungsten Inert Gas), fully qualified to work as a welder, there were seven women in the approximately seven hundred member local union. Often the only woman working on a site, she was frequently told to “get a thicker skin.” Or, “don’t bleed in the shark pool”. One way to interpret that is to shudder at the number of electrical shocks, molten metal burns and assorted jagged edges which got past the cheap plastic rain gear and size 12 steel-toed gumboots she was issued at the Esquimalt Shipyard at the start of her career.
The other reading, for any woman working in the trades, is the ability to withstand the verbal hazing, the filthy language and even malicious meddling with the intent to cause failure. From the belligerent foreman who refused to acknowledge she actually was the TIG welder he’d sent for and had her making coffee for three shifts at $90 an hour, to the airport security guard who was convinced she was travelling under her husband’s name, to all the times opportunities were kept hidden in some special men-only need apply vault of information, the self-described 5 foot 4 inch nerd with big glasses met sexist stupidity with unwavering stamina.
Fortunately, for every deeply insecure and mean-spirited individual depicted in this book there are at least a half-dozen decent, well-brought up union brothers who let her know they would back her up if she ever made a complaint. She never did. But several men scuttled off to complain about her! After one such encounter the foreman came over to talk to her about the tool crib attendant’s complaint after she refused to share his sleeping quarters, claiming she’d threatened him.
“What did you say?” he asked.
“I said that given the opportunity, I would stab him in his sleep and make necklaces out of his teeth,” I answered.
“Did you?” he asked. “Well, good for you. Carry on.”
In one truly scary instance, the brothers made sure she made it safely to and from her car and everywhere else she walked on the job before they found a way to get a dangerous predator out of camp. In another, when she was recuperating from severe dehydration, she’d find a litre of orange juice or a jug of bottled water outside her hotel room door, left by the guys she worked with after the first aid attendant spread the word. When one or more other women were working on-site, the dynamics changed in a most gratifying way for the better. They made the guys blush.
Fortunately, Hilary Peach is no slouch at defending herself, possessed of a razor-sharp sense of humour. Here’s how she dispensed with a foreman who sidled up to her and whispered in her ear:
“If it had been up to me, you’d have been fired weeks ago. This is no place for women.”
“If you don’t like your job,” I said, “you can go and work in a flower shop.”
I sense an adjective went missing in that last sentence. As Red Seal carpenter and acclaimed poet Kate Braid says in her excellent Foreword, “Thick Skin reveals the challenges of the job, both physical and emotional, but it’s also a love story. It’s about choosing your battles, fitting in, getting along, and it’s a study in sensitivity and toughness.”
This is a wonderful memoir by a remarkable writer and human being about her experiences as a welder and member of the Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers, Union Local 191. For two decades after completing her training in B.C., Hilary Peach worked mostly as a travel card welder. This meant responding to call-outs for skilled workers urgently needed at big projects like pulp mills, chemical plants, refineries and generating stations elsewhere. Off to Montana, Pennsylvania, Fort McMurray, Port Alice, Chetwynd, Nova Scotia, Prince George and Skookumchuk she went, constantly refining her skill set, learning from the best welders in the trade as well as dealing with the toxic and hazardous ones.
It is not explained exactly how she became interested in welding or learned she had an aptitude for metalwork with good eye-hand co-ordination, not to mention mental and physical toughness, fearlessness when working at dizzying heights or in cramped enclosed spaces. Or how she acquired the endurance needed for working in severe cold or heat for 10-13 hour days for weeks at a stretch. There is no mention of big brothers or a handy Dad with a workshop but her kind and thoughtful mother seemed fully supportive of her endeavours. So was a renowned instructor, Denby Nelson, at the former Malaspina College in Nanaimo who must have recognized a kindred spirit, a renegade artist needing a way to make excellent wages to finance her Gulf Island acreage plans and creative collaborations with other artists.
But when Hilary Peach set out, in her early thirties in the early 2000’s, with her TIG ticket (Tungsten Inert Gas), fully qualified to work as a welder, there were seven women in the approximately seven hundred member local union. Often the only woman working on a site, she was frequently told to “get a thicker skin.” Or, “don’t bleed in the shark pool”. One way to interpret that is to shudder at the number of electrical shocks, molten metal burns and assorted jagged edges which got past the cheap plastic rain gear and size 12 steel-toed gumboots she was issued at the Esquimalt Shipyard at the start of her career.
The other reading, for any woman working in the trades, is the ability to withstand the verbal hazing, the filthy language and even malicious meddling with the intent to cause failure. From the belligerent foreman who refused to acknowledge she actually was the TIG welder he’d sent for and had her making coffee for three shifts at $90 an hour, to the airport security guard who was convinced she was travelling under her husband’s name, to all the times opportunities were kept hidden in some special men-only need apply vault of information, the self-described 5 foot 4 inch nerd with big glasses met sexist stupidity with unwavering stamina.
Fortunately, for every deeply insecure and mean-spirited individual depicted in this book there are at least a half-dozen decent, well-brought up union brothers who let her know they would back her up if she ever made a complaint. She never did. But several men scuttled off to complain about her! After one such encounter the foreman came over to talk to her about the tool crib attendant’s complaint after she refused to share his sleeping quarters, claiming she’d threatened him.
“What did you say?” he asked.
“I said that given the opportunity, I would stab him in his sleep and make necklaces out of his teeth,” I answered.
“Did you?” he asked. “Well, good for you. Carry on.”
In one truly scary instance, the brothers made sure she made it safely to and from her car and everywhere else she walked on the job before they found a way to get a dangerous predator out of camp. In another, when she was recuperating from severe dehydration, she’d find a litre of orange juice or a jug of bottled water outside her hotel room door, left by the guys she worked with after the first aid attendant spread the word. When one or more other women were working on-site, the dynamics changed in a most gratifying way for the better. They made the guys blush.
Fortunately, Hilary Peach is no slouch at defending herself, possessed of a razor-sharp sense of humour. Here’s how she dispensed with a foreman who sidled up to her and whispered in her ear:
“If it had been up to me, you’d have been fired weeks ago. This is no place for women.”
“If you don’t like your job,” I said, “you can go and work in a flower shop.”
I sense an adjective went missing in that last sentence. As Red Seal carpenter and acclaimed poet Kate Braid says in her excellent Foreword, “Thick Skin reveals the challenges of the job, both physical and emotional, but it’s also a love story. It’s about choosing your battles, fitting in, getting along, and it’s a study in sensitivity and toughness.”
September 2, 2024
“…boilermaking teaches endurance, forthrightness, patience, and strength, as well as survival skills that many women are specifically discouraged from learning: how to let things roll of your back. How to gain confidence and skills you can be proud of as you take on more and more complex work. How to make excellent money.”
Hilary Peach is a poet, author, and boilermaker. This book is a memoir, her recollections of her decade in the field and on the road in a difficult, dangerous, demanding, and essential trade. She is part of a different 1% - the women in the boilermaker’s union. While the discrimination and misogyny of the industry is discussed, Peach focuses more on the rough and dirty (and often unsafe) working conditions, the loneliness and disconnection of transient work, and the resource and manufacturing industries that depend on the trades to make them work.
Peach describes her two decades in the trade, much of that spent as a “travel card”, a transient worker at locations across North America. While there is high demand for the boilermaker craft (ditto welding and any of the infrastructure trades), the work is rarely all in one place. Big sites like refineries and steel plants are typically built to last, and so construction, repair, and maintenance work happen only intermittently, and the local workforce needs to be augmented for these larger jobs. To stay busy and viable, the tradesperson, especially one new to the business, needs to be mobile, tough, and resilient.
While she doesn’t make light of the sex discrimination in the industry, she is careful to put it in the context of many dimensions of discrimination. Being an outsider on almost every job means that there is always something about you that is different and therefore vulnerable to teasing, abuse, and marginalization. On one job in Ontario, Peach experienced discrimination based on language and place of origin – the bulk of the crew were francophone and from New Brunswick (spoiler, she eventually makes friends with the group). In several early jobs, the discrimination was based on her being a novice; the work is difficult, dangerous, and done in pairs, so people were naturally nervous about working in a confined space with a newbie. She does detail some horrible sexism, and abuse and danger well beyond harassment, but as above, in the context of a long career, these are not the predominant experience. She also acknowledges near the end that much has changed and is changing with the newer generations of skilled tradespeople.
Alongside the difficulties in learning and becoming expert in the craft, Peach describes the strange combination of isolation and camaraderie that the traveling boilermaker experiences. Stuck in a new, small town in a crummy motel with bad food, working long night shifts with strange new colleagues, the experiences are both daunting and delightful. When she finds herself on a job in Nova Scotia, she finds accommodation at a lovely farmhouse B&B. On the first day of the job, she’s working again with the francophones, this time as pals. She makes many real friends, and experiences fewer “monsters”. She also learns to give as good as she gets, becoming capable of swearing a blue streak and executing a crude joke along with the rest of them.
Ultimately, the job takes its toll on her physically, but she’s able to pivot into a quality and training role, making the most of her experience and expertise. She is clearly embedded in the craft, and is a fierce advocate for the trades more generally as a place for anyone who can endure the physical and other difficulties of this fiery field.
February 3, 2025
This is a great read; February 2025 book club selection. There are many descriptions of welding that I did not understand, but they did not take away from the pleasure of reading this book. From her descriptions one certainly gets the message that welding is not as simple as lighting up a torch and heating some metal. She tells some truly harrowing tales of some of the jobs she worked on.
The author was a transient welder for over 20 years, one woman among all the men; many were tough but gentle souls, while as you would imagine, many were crude, rude, and unhelpful, resenting her presence in the workplace.
I thought a lot about what it must be like to live out of your vehicle and cheap motels, working shifts for the whole of your life. While she never mentioned romance other than very occasional hints about a possible relationship, it must have been virtually impossible to have a long-term relationship and children, given the transient nature of her work. She never said whether she missed these trappings of suburbia. Possibly not. My impression is that she loved her work. Definitely worth reading!
The author was a transient welder for over 20 years, one woman among all the men; many were tough but gentle souls, while as you would imagine, many were crude, rude, and unhelpful, resenting her presence in the workplace.
I thought a lot about what it must be like to live out of your vehicle and cheap motels, working shifts for the whole of your life. While she never mentioned romance other than very occasional hints about a possible relationship, it must have been virtually impossible to have a long-term relationship and children, given the transient nature of her work. She never said whether she missed these trappings of suburbia. Possibly not. My impression is that she loved her work. Definitely worth reading!
October 14, 2025
3.5 Stars. As an electrician that started my apprenticeship a few years after Peach did and spent several years working in man camps in mostly AB I just wanted more from this book. Sure sometimes some big, sketchy situations arise but what wears on you are the every day subtleties. The fighting for your piece of the pie at the start of every single job.
The bullshit wore on Peach as she details in the final chapters. I’ve experienced the same trajectory in my own career but I wanted to really hear and understand how Peach went from bright eyed and bushy tailed to having all the patience beat out of her.
We would have shared many of the same experiences but I just didn’t feel like I knew her and the struggles of being a woman in a trade like I did when I read Ducks.
The bullshit wore on Peach as she details in the final chapters. I’ve experienced the same trajectory in my own career but I wanted to really hear and understand how Peach went from bright eyed and bushy tailed to having all the patience beat out of her.
We would have shared many of the same experiences but I just didn’t feel like I knew her and the struggles of being a woman in a trade like I did when I read Ducks.
May 20, 2024
Not only is this an excellently written book, it should be required reading for any woman working in the trades.
I especially loved Hilary's experience making coffee on-site for two days while the Foreman stomped around hue-ing and crying about where was his TIG welder who should have been there two days ago to do some urgently needed specialty welds.
Priceless!
Every woman in the trades, I'm sure, has experienced that looking-past-me for the 'expert man' that should have been standing behind me (according to the understanding of that short-sighted man).
I loved every minute of reading this book.
I especially loved Hilary's experience making coffee on-site for two days while the Foreman stomped around hue-ing and crying about where was his TIG welder who should have been there two days ago to do some urgently needed specialty welds.
Priceless!
Every woman in the trades, I'm sure, has experienced that looking-past-me for the 'expert man' that should have been standing behind me (according to the understanding of that short-sighted man).
I loved every minute of reading this book.
June 3, 2024
I am in LOVE with this book! Hilary Peach does an excellent job of bringing industry experiences to light with both humour and first-hand accounts of real-life events. Her witty stories are second-to-none leaving you turning pages into the wee hours of the night. If you want to deep dive into what it’s like to be in a male dominated industry, a female welder with the boilermakers, seeing and feeling the culture through them, this book is for you! What an amazing amazing read, loved all the stories and reflections.
Thank you so so much Hilary for sharing your stories and journey and for letting us readers into your world.
#hilarypeach #boilermaker #welder #thickskin #bookreview 📚🤓
Thank you so so much Hilary for sharing your stories and journey and for letting us readers into your world.
#hilarypeach #boilermaker #welder #thickskin #bookreview 📚🤓
December 22, 2025
This book was given to me as a birthday present from a coworker after he found out I was starting my millwright apprenticeship this year! Reading this felt like I was talking to an older sister that I never had. There is something very comforting in the narrative. Very much relatable, I see myself in a lot of her interests and overall demeanour through the beginning of the book. As someone who is the only girl millwright at my workplace and the fact I’m just starting with very little knowledge, there were some great tidbits or “hacks” I found within the stories that I hope to hold on to and try out sometime
September 20, 2023
I enjoyed this book very much. It gives a great look into a specialized trade, probably one of the darker trades. I had the pleasure of meeting Peach personally at a National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) conference, where she was a guest speaker and shared chapters of her book with an audience of skilled trades women. Sheis even more interesting to chat with in person and a lovely woman. Thank you Peach for blazing a trail for those of us in the industry.!
October 6, 2024
Didn't get to finish it, but a well written peek into the foreign world of welding. Following Peach through her education in this trade and then into the world of a union brotherhood where most members are male and competing against fellow welders is the norm in the pursuit of work. Very interesting look at equality in the trades.
August 27, 2023
An exceptionally well written book about a world few of us experience first hand. Her descriptions of both her work assignments and the difficult gender based discriminations are truly enlightening. I cannot recommend this book enough
July 8, 2024
A great read about a woman who spent a career in an overwhelmingly male trade. She held her own, took the metaphorical hits and slayed her bullies with her words. And along the way made many friends who recognized that she was good at what at her trade!! A true groundbreaker!!
August 1, 2024
As a boilermaker apprentice, this is a wonderful (& accurate) read. Extending out from the skilled craft of boilermaking, I would encourage any {female} in the trades to give this book a read! Especially if they are newer to it, just starting out and working in the field.
December 30, 2023
The challenges and occasional joys of being a woman iron worker/welder.
January 31, 2024
Really great. Funny and interesting.
December 2, 2024
Stories and reflections from decades of a woman working in a male dominated construction industry.
January 1, 2025
Gabriolda Island Author
January 16, 2025
Extremely inspiring book. Did not expect to get so emotionally attached to this story. Hilary Peach is a brilliant writer.
August 30, 2025
Good story about the abuse women take in the workplace - especially in the trades which I am sure is a true representation. Too much detail on welding techniques at times but a book worth reading.
October 18, 2025
A wonderful read with grounded humor and kindness to its core. This will resonate deeply with folks who have worked in construction in the field. I can't wait to read more from this author!
April 28, 2025
Fascinating look into another world. I wanted to skim before my book club meeting 8 months after reading it the first time and I had to completely re-read it!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews