This option includes French Boy and We Were Not Spoiled—both good reads in themselves and together they are a dynamite addition to anyone’s bookshelf. The link will send you to Amazon {I know, not exactly small business but they are the printers and distributors of these books] so we can’t give you a discount per se but we can offer you the e-versions to both books for free in lieu of a discount. Just send us the receipt of your purchases and we will expedite the e-books.

French Boy / A 1950s Franco-American Childhood

French Boy / A 1950s Franco-American Childhood chronicles the life of Denis Ledoux, a Mainer born in 1947. His life is typical of many Franco-Americans of his generation until it isn’t. You will find French Boy to be an important addition to your library of Franco-American books and you will appreciate how it adds to your understanding of Maine’s ethnically diverse communities in the last century.

345 pages

Five stars for this Informative, Memorable, and Entertaining memoir! Denis painted some wonderful pictures of the life and times of his Franco-American boyhood and his extended family. He not only provided ancestry and culture, but he gave us something extra that I have not yet found in other memoirs. He tells his life as he saw it while he was living it, and then later, we see how he felt in retrospect. I enjoyed seeing how he came to adulthood with impressions that eventually turned his memories into this wonderful memoir! I think you will enjoy French Boy as well. – B Boisvert

French Boy gives an interesting overview of the unique culture of the Francophones of Quebec and Maine during a particular time in American history. As an immigrant myself, I could identify with the themes of ‘otherness’ and ‘belonging’ so well depicted through the character of the young protagonist. A book that everyone from the dominant culture should read! — Sue Narayanan

French Boy transports the reader into the unique way of life  of the Franco-Americans (French-speaking Canadians in the US) during a time of much societal change following World War II. Denis Ledoux provides a very thoughtful look into his world at the time and the effects of change on his hard-working, extended family who immigrated from Canada to work in the textile mills of Maine. His honesty about the inner conflicts and questions his childhood experiences and observations caused him are heartwarming and relatable. As a native Californian, I enjoyed gaining an understanding of a people and culture, within the United States, yet a world away. —Mary McFadden

We Were Not Spoiled / A Franco-American Memoir

We Were Not Spoiled is a book of often overlooked 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 function. We Were Not Spoiled is full of period photos drawn from family collections and is generously endowed with endnotes to enhance the significance of the text for historical reference.

This is a book is full of period photos drawn from family collections and is generously endowed with endnotes to enhance the significance of the text for historical reference.

This memoir helped me understand what life was like for my ancestors, and appreciate modern conveniences, as well as the vast store of knowledge each relative possesses. Special thanks to Lucille & Denis for making this book available!
A. M. Sandstrom

The story continues into Lucille’s adulthood and her marriage. The time includes the Great Depression and World War II where her husband was away in the war. I found it a most enjoyable read since I love these homespun memories. I wish more people would take the time to collect their parents’ stories and commit them to paper.
Virginia Allain