Providing comfort, strength, healing and hope.
Welcome to A Soft Voice...
On a quiet beach, tears spilling, my 16-year-old body trembling, with tragedy threatening to destroy me, I first understood the sandbar of life—the fragile place between what was and what will never be the same.
There I made a promise to do what I could to ease the pain others feel in their own heartbreaking seasons.
As an educator, columnist and writer for over 36 years, I want to offer a soft voice, to people suffering with head injury, invisible illness, grief, the repercussions of war, and abuse.
Through sharing stories and blogs, I hope to awaken understanding, give language to what hurts, and offer a gentle, steady presence where you might see yourself and find your way.”
Sincerely, Francene Gillis
About the Author
I am a dedicated educator and author. After surviving trauma, shyness, low self-esteem, grief, and injuries, I began writing to make sense of physical and emotional pain.
My books and reflections come from real moments on the shoreline of my life—places of deep grief and unexpected strength—where I first promised myself I would educate and advocate.
With a B.Ed., M.Ed., and over 35 years as a high school English Language arts & Literature teacher, wife, columnist, mother, speaker, and consultant, I spend my challenging days using words to lift others. My most cherished role is that of grammie to Aden, Jack, and Maeve.
Life is full in Port Hood even with chronic pain, Fibromyalgia, fatigue, and shortfalls of Post-concussion Syndrome (PCS). To get through my days I hang onto faith in a higher being, and authentic, good people. A kind word, story, hug, or smile, helps make others feel better.
All scenic web photographs are from my Port Hood paradise, and the beach below my house. Some sites of possible interest follow.
Picking up fragments and rocks is tender work. I hope through true stories and gentle questions, you find strength. And those tears you feel... Heal!
Compassion is the window into people's souls. Handle with care. I share stories of inspiration because I know and live with chronic pain, but I also live joy, appreciation, gratitude, wonder, learning, laughter, connection, love and faith.
Port Hood, NS
Resilience, Recovery, Courage
Where Did i Go? 5 STAR Reviews
Brain Injury: Seven Resilience Stories. Remarkable People dealing with tragedy, trauma, grief while providing hope!
Sharing stories. A Beacon of Hope. Brain injury needs a multidisciplinary approach, resources, knowledge, education.
Insight For Practitioners, Educators, Families, Therapists
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"Once he opens her up, he has to put everything back in its place, her spine severed at her L3 vertebra. He repairs her discs at L3 and L4, fuses them with two titanium rods connecting the L2 to L4 vertebrae. Once out of surgery, he places her in an induced coma. She has a crack in her skull, right-side forehead, causing a brain hemorrhage and brain swelling.
"Her face swells and her spine leaks fluid. She broke blood vessels in her nose, banged and bruised her right knee and ankle, broke her radius, and has a tear in her shoulder, scheduled for surgery the next day if she is stable. Her then boyfriend sustains less serious injuries. While she is heavily sedated, the hospital notifies her mom and dad in the dreaded moment all parents fear." — Excerpt: Where Did i Go? a memoir plus
Optometrist Specialist: “You have done a remarkable job researching this topic! I was extremely impressed! A brain injury (even so-called ‘mild’ concussions) can be devastating to sufferers. Untreated Post Trauma Vision Syndrome (PTVS) can make life miserable. This book leads you through the symptoms of PTVS and how to find help. If you have a TBI, you owe it to yourself to read!”— Dr. Toby Mandelman
A Rose in November
overcoming adversity
A gentle hand for those facing life's darkest winters, while revealing the profound beauty that emerges when we endure.
True, touching stories, of the enduring inner resilience and strength within us.
Providing thought for those facing illness, paralysis, cancer, grief, challenge, care-giving, or determination in pursuing dreams.
When it comes to getting sick, there is one word we do not want to hear. In fact, we panic at the very thought of it. Cancer is a terrible disease, which destroys the body and can go a long way in destroying one's life, but it cannot destroy a spirit that is determined to live.
I sat in the newly built sun porch Bill MacDonald had built himself. It was attached to the deck and house he had a major role in building. I watched and listened intently as he and his wife shared of troubled times years ago. As I listened to the serene, healthy man across from me, images of a not so healthy Bill MacDonald flashed through my memory. – introduction to Bill's story
"That was a real downer, coming home to where our hearts in a few months time we would have been bringing a baby. It seemed like all our dreams were shattered."
A Rose in November — Martha and A.J. Rankin
And Momma Cried, Second World War,
Available for Pre-order, COMING Fall, 2026
Four men and their journey through the Second World War. A family navigating hardships and service.
Courage. Risk. Pain. The Magnitude of what men and women in the military risk and sacrifice.
November 22, 1943, and we are still fighting. Somebody swears. A West Novie Command—DROP! We crouch, sudden statues afraid to move, afraid to be seen, afraid to breathe, eyes stinging from the intensity of squinting. Can’t get my air. Can’t… panic. Shouldn’t panic. Drilled into us.
What do I do, a green-gilled kid from the rural sticks of Cape Breton, barely ready to shave? Damn near piss myself when the bomb blows. I suck in, check my body for injuries, ringing in my head. Thank God I’m alive; I stumble past dead bodies, debris, scared to move forward, but moving forward anyway. It is a tough slog trying to break through the formidable German defence. The brutal, heavy rain turns our slit-trenches into swamps. Everything sinks, slips, slides, including our equipment, feet, ankles, and shins.— Excerpt: And Momma Cried
Truth Be Told: Truth or Fiction?
DRAFT
publication in 2027
Complex historical fiction.
Six men sexually abused their entire childhood. True stories, the catalyst for this book.
Secrets. Refusal to hear or see. Patrick O'Neill represents sexually abused survivors.
Struggles a decade to reveal his truth.
But is it truth or fabrication?
Victims being victimized. Mental trauma. Doubt. Coping Guilt. Manipulation. Betrayal. Misplaced Judgement.
The heavens teeming with twinkling stars, masked to the north by clouds moving in, Patrick cracks his knuckles, rubs his hands, before reaching for the familiar doorknob. He sweeps his hair back, knowing the minute he enters, life as he knows it will vanish. He wonders if he can tell his grammie and gramps the ugly, hush-hush, naked truth. They have no clue. No one does. It will devastate them, but he needs anchors. Dear Brutus, sensing trepidation, does not even bark. With a football tackle breath, Patrick gingerly turns the handle. Baked rolls waft. Sheamus sees him first.
Life Experience Blogs
Heartbreak and Trauma Provide Choice. We wilt or grow stronger by focusing on weeds or blooms. The world shimmers with quiet beauty, wisdom, and good people. With courage to work gently on ourselves, lean on faith, love, hugs, and humour, we grow into the best version of ourselves.
