We Were Not Spoiled, A Franco-American Memoir

To read We Were Not Spoiled: A Franco-American Memoir by Lucille Ledoux as told to her son, memoir author and teacher Denis Ledoux, is to travel back in time and place and experience the daily life of a woman from a different generation. When Denis’ mother, Lucille, was in her mid-eighties, he decided to preserve the stories about her life he had heard throughout the years. Even though, Lucille was convinced no one would be interested in her life, Denis persisted in in his quest to write her story. What resulted was an engaging and believable story about a young girl, the first born of twelve children to French immigrants from Quebec. Lucille narrated the facts as she recalled them and Denis put her words into context by filling in historical events. The story covers Lucille’s first thirty years which includes her marriage to Albert Ledoux and the birth of her first two children. In the words of Denis Ledoux, “the memoir grew from the accounts of my mother ‘doing this and that’ to a story of a life set in an historical context and spanning most of the twentieth century.” I have to smile when I hear that Lucille, at 93, is selling her memoir at her nursing home.

The beauty of this memoir is the glimpse the reader gets into life of an immigrant family told by a woman looking back and reflecting on the day-to-day events that shaped her. The reader feels the daily struggles of this Franco-American family set against historical events. Issues such as the role of women in society, the impact of marginalization on a family’s life, and work conditions of the time are addressed in detail. The author provides endnotes to add depth to the narrative. There are also multiple family photos that help us see the people in the story.