TIGHTROPE
Balancing Duty With Courage and Conviction
TIGHTROPE
Available Now
How do you stay upright when the very system you swore to uphold begins to shake beneath your feet?
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In Tightrope, retired Deputy Chief Constable Jennifer Hyland offers a rare and unflinching look behind the badge. Through raw honesty and hard-won wisdom, she charts her twenty-six-year journey through Canadian policing—rising from a young recruit to one of the highest-ranking women in the profession—all while walking the fragile line between duty and despair, strength and vulnerability, silence and truth.
But this is more than a story about crime scenes and crisis calls. It’s about the invisible injuries: the quiet corrosion of identity from institutional politics, power struggles, and a culture that too often punishes authenticity. Diagnosed with PTSD and multiple sclerosis, Hyland came face-to-face with her breaking point—and chose not to shatter. Instead, she found a way forward that honoured both the work and her humanity.
Tightrope is a reckoning and a rallying cry. It’s for everyone who has walked a difficult path, for those wearing a uniform, those just entering policing, and those who’ve left—wondering if they were the only ones who struggled. It’s a mirror, a lifeline, and an invitation to heal. Because the truth is, you’re not alone—and there is strength, and even hope, on the other side of the storm.
REVIEWS
What readers are saying
"Authentic and effectively communicating her experiences in the world of policing Jennifer Hyland’s book should be a must read for anyone considering this as a profession. Whether a cadet, new recruit, multi-year veteran, this story will have elements that resonate. If you have a family member in policing reading her journey may provide insight into what is going on in your loved one’s life and the circumstances and struggles they face daily and in their career arc."
~Hugh Kruzel, Host of 'Quality of Life' Podcast
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"Have you ever picked up a book and, a few pages in, realized it feels like it was written for you?
That’s what happened when I started Tightrope: Balancing Duty with Courage and Conviction (2025) by Jennifer Hyland. I thought I would read a chapter and come back to it later. Instead, the book completely enveloped me. Hours slipped by and I was still reading into the next day. To say I loved this book is an understatement. It brought me back to grad school, when every word felt exciting, ideas kept clicking into place, and the growth felt immediate.
It also began to shape my conversations. I caught myself saying, “Listen to this part…” and processing what I had read out loud as I tried to make sense of my own tightrope.
This book landed at three levels at once (a) Head: giving language to the tensions, contradictions, and expectations leaders walk every day, (b) Heart: naming the grief, hope, and tenderness we often tuck behind “I’m fine” and “It’s ok, and (c) Gut: creating that deep recognition of, “This is me. This is my tightrope. I can’t unknow this now.”
Some books are information. Some books are affirmation. And some, like Tightrope, are a reckoning, the kind of reading that lingers in your thoughts, shifts your self-talk, and influences how you step into the next meeting, decision, and conversation.
For me, this isn’t just about finishing a book. It’s about letting a book finish something in me: a season of over-functioning, an old story about what I “have to” carry, or a pattern that’s overdue for change.
With deep gratitude to Jennifer Hyland for writing a book that doesn’t just talk about leaders, but speaks directly to the experience of walking the wire every day."
~Shelley McClure, CHE, Ed.D, Leader, Educator, Coach, Consultant
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"It took a lot of courage and strength for Jennifer to write this book. I identified with Jennifer in so many chapters, bringing back great memories and of course some that were not so fun. I admire Jennifer's ability and willingness to tell us about her career, bumps and all, in such a profound way."
—Corporal Wendy Aune (Robinson) RCMP (retired) 1976-2002
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"Deputy Chief (Ret.) Jennifer Hyland has written a book that anyone who is an officer of any kind, or is thinking of becoming one, will greatly benefit from reading. Her book takes you inside the complex realities that officers face, and reveals the inner struggles to manage the conflicts, loneliness and stresses that are inevitable in the work. This book might seem political but I personally don’t think that is its main purpose — It is a book about loving to be standing in a place to protect and care deeply about other people — and the emotional price that is inevitably paid in doing this kind of work. If you want to understand how difficult the job can be, and how awesomely rewarding it can be…this book is a must read!"
—Terry D. Anderson PhD, Chief Leadership Officer, Command College
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