Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, I come from a large French-Canadian American family. My mother—born in the Eastern Townships of Québéc—had nine brothers and three sisters. Gatherings were huge, with music and all the ma tantes and mon oncles dancing reels and quadrilles. I'd watch from the room where they laid their coats. My mother played the spoons. Summers, we’d travel the back roads up through New Hampshire to visit ma tante Laura’s farm in the Stoke Mountains of Québéc. The farm had cows, spring-fed riverlets, and a cabane à sucre for making maple syrup. We slept in a loft under handmade quilts. My writing draws from that heritage.