A portrait of Francine Pelletier. Photo by Julien Thomas.
Book cover of Au Québec, c'est comme ça qu'on vit by Francine Pelletier.
The book, which has been in the making since 2018, is an extension of the documentary Pelletier wrote and directed, Battle for Quebec's Soul, released in May 2022. Pelletier says the book is a much more personal account than the documentary.
“In the first two chapters I explain my own "identity crisis,", how as a Franco-Ontarian studying in Alberta in my early 20s, I suddenly became aware of the difficulties of remaining a full-fledged francophone in Canada,” Pelletier says.
In 1975, Pelletier came to Montreal to be a part of a vibrant, progressive city.
"It was a great time to be in Montreal," she says. "Here, I discovered politics, feminism, journalism. There was no looking back. Until, more than a generation later, I realized looking back was precisely what was happening."
She says this book is both her coming-of-age story and what happened in Quebec over the last 50 years.
Pelletier hopes it will encourage some vigorous debate and offer some new perspectives.
“We need to make sense of the world we live in. We need to connect the dots,” Pelletier says.
“That is what I'm trying to do with this book. I think anyone who wants to understand Québec's trajectory, not just its history but its inner workings, will find something to chew on.”