"My education was less important to my parents than my little pay. They wanted me to work and turn my wages over to them."
We Were Not Spoiled
chronicles the early life of a Franco-Mainer born in 1921 in Lewiston and raised there. Lucille Verreault Ledoux's life is t
ypical of many Franco-American women of her generation, children of immigrants to the US from French Canada
, and, as such, the book is an
important addition to our understanding of Maine's ethnically diverse communities in the last century
.
offers insight into Franco-American social life and identity of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. In this story of the effects of immigration to the US from French Canada, we glimpse into the lives of French-speaking women and girls in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.
French Canadian culture continued to be alive in the New England girls who people this eminently readable memoir.
YOU WILL FIND OVERLOOKED LIVES
reveals
an eye for often neglected details, of information thought to be marginal and so too frequently lost to students of history
. A basic function of memoir is to give witness to a time and a way of life gone by, and this book succeeds well at this. In its pages, we find ourselves going with Lucille into textile mills of the Northeast US, living religious orthodoxy, and creating an identity for herself as a woman, wife and mother in the context of industrial New England..
WHAT AMAZON REVIEWERS HAVE SAID OF
"
The narrative is crisp and descriptive
, and the story flowed at a good pace to keep me turning the pages. I thoroughly enjoyed reading
and
highly recommend it as an enjoyable, enlightening read
." -Kathy Pooler "
This book was so interesting that I did not put it down until I had finished reading it.
.. Denis has done an excellent job in portraying his mother's family life." -Colin Guest "
is presented
like a story told at the kitchen table
of Lucille's experience growing up French in Maine." -Roland Vallerand
is full of period photos and notes to support
the significance of the text for historical reference.
This is a Franco-American tale, a New England memoir, but even more an American story.
Scroll to the top of this page and select the "buy" button. The financial investment is small, and the reading pleasure is great.
MORE FRANCO CONTENT
French Boy / A 1950s Franco-American Childhood
provides a deep look into a culture.
Here to Stay / Lives in Seventeenth-Century Canada
.Ordinary people, heroic times.
THE MEMOIR NETWORK WRITING SERIES
Don't Let Writer's Block Stop You
shows you how writer's block CAN teach you to push beyond stuck.
How to Go Beyond Writing Prompts
gets you rooted in the meaning of your stories. Gone the isolated or irrelevant stories produced by prompts.
Write to the End / Eight Strategies to Thrive as a Writer
offers a number of techniques and best writing practices to keep you writing.
Memory List Question Book: 100s of Not-a-Prompt Questions
Meaningful questions / topics / ideas that help you to reflect more deeply on your story.
Start Your Memoir Right
i
s full of practical steps: stop asking yourself if you should write your memoir. Find inspiration to begin and learn techniques of the art of memoir writing.
Writing Great Memory Lists.
Memory Lists are the magic bullet of memoir writing. Recall more details and dates than you ever thought possible.