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Mike Reynolds
Wilma Derksen is a Canadian woman whose daughter was murdered in the 1980s. When her daughter, Candace, doesn’t come home one evening, Wilma and her husband go looking for her but are unsuccessful. It isn’t until seven weeks later that the police find Candace’s dead body tied up in a nearby shed. That night, a man comes to Wilma’s house and tells her and her husband that his daughter was also murdered. He tells them stories about trying to bring the killer to justice, and Wilma can sense that his anger has all but ruined his life. Because of this (and because she and her husband are Mennonites who believe in forgiveness), Wilma decides to let go of the matter altogether. To that end, the Derksens tell reporters that they hope their daughter’s killer finds the love he needs. Gladwell juxtaposes Wilma’s story with Mike Reynolds’s story, demonstrating that there are multiple ways to respond to adversity and trauma.
Wilma Derksen Quotes in David and Goliath
The David and Goliath quotes below are all either spoken by Wilma Derksen or refer to Wilma Derksen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 8: Wilma Derksen Quotes
Is Wilma Derksen more—or less—of a hero than Mike Reynolds? It is tempting to ask that question. But it is not right: Each acted out of the best of intentions and chose a deeply courageous path.
The difference between the two was that they felt differently about what could be accomplished through the use of power. The Derksens fought every instinct they had as parents to strike back because they were unsure of what that could accomplish. They were not convinced of the power of giants.
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Wilma Derksen Character Timeline in David and Goliath
The timeline below shows where the character Wilma Derksen appears in David and Goliath. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8: Wilma Derksen
Turning his attention to another heartbreaking story about murder, Gladwell introduces Wilma Derksen, a woman living in Winnipeg, Manitoba with her family in the 1980s. One night,...
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The Derksens’ friends and family visit them the day they learn that Candace has died. Late that...
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Gladwell highlights the difference between the Derksens’ and Mike Reynolds’s reactions to tragedy. While Mike Reynolds believed he could wield power to...
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...history full of sexual abuse offenses and has been jailed multiple times. During his trial, Wilma Derksen struggles to be in the same room as him. As she sits there, she...
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