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Books to Hold!

Welcome. Find my work here. Explore my projects to learn more about

what I write, where I want to have a voice, and why I write what I do.

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Signed Book available locally through Francene Gillis. Contact OC Publishing

& Indie bookstores. Preorder available for through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and through Indigo/Chapters to receive your order at a store near you.

Book cover Where Did i Go?

OC Publishing

​Coming this June 22, 2025 

  • Nine years in the making (six with pacing, and writing in therapy)

  • Born through desperation, fear, pain, frustration, and harsh lessons learned

  • Created to help others not feel overwhelmed or alone if concussed

  • Increase awareness of head injuries and what concussions can do

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  • The journey from knowing little to a great deal

  • Discovering, researching and utilizing a multitude of resources, therapies and tools

  • If we only knew how and where to get them when injured

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  • My struggle to understand, get better, get proper help and back to my passion of teaching

  • PCS (Post-concussion Syndrome) lingering symptoms long after they should go away

  • Setbacks, obstacles as my PCS mixed with and made ongoing health problems worse

 

"I had to deal with frustration, recall issues, flooding from multiple senses, stuttering, a claw, pressure on my forehead, fatigue that had me crying on my bathroom floor." Francene

 

How I Learned​

  • Asking for help

  • Asking medical practitioners and therapists questions and others who suffered a concussion

  • Discovering what I needed: knowledge, resources, organizations, clinics, therapists, tips & tricks​

 

Within the Pages

  • My Journey around what was going on with me

  • Education section where experts in the field inform and make people more aware

  • Treatment section of possibilities for therapy and recovery

  • In A Heartbeat: seven phenomenal stories from people faced with the unexpected

  • Inspirational, healing themes of strength, courage, resilience, tenacity ​

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Caution ... no two concussions are the same

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  • Doctors do not know how long recovery will take

  • Do not be discouraged. I was older when I fell; my head bounced on concrete; I had a whiplash, other health problems, was in poor, physical shape

  • Most people recover in 14-30 days and have few repercussions

  • About 15-25% develop PCS, vestibular and eye problems​​

  • I grieved, fought to accept the changes, and to deal with not being able to do what I once could

Port Hood sunset

OC Publishing

Coming June 22, 2025
Signed copies from author if able to pick up!
Online, Amazon, Barnes & Noble 
By order through Indigo/Chapters,
& Indie bookstores
 

Croseed arms for protection
Images of Concussion
Oh, my Aching Head!
What Happened?
The claw represents the pressure on my forehead whenever I tried to do anything.
Don't go down the vortex.
The first few days are crucial for getting help, known as the window of vulnerability.

Find out the answer and MORE in Where Did i Go? a memoir plus

A Rose in November, Limited Supply $10.00 plus shipping. Message if interested

A Rose in November

ONLY available through the author! Cost $10 plus shipping

Limited Supply

Cover of my first book, A Rose in November
Back cover of A Rose in November, rose garden, Author picture

A Rose in November was self-published in 1994 and did very well considering it was only marketed locally. It contains inspirational stories, some beyond belief. As it is older and not all the contributors are living, I am selling locally within Nova Scotia, what I have left for $10.00 each,

plus whatever it costs to ship.

It is ONLY available through me. It is a great bargain considering the content inside. It is indeed a tribute to the human spirit. 

Coming this Fall, 2025

Creative Nonfiction Book available October 2025, locally through author, and through Nova Scotia Indie bookstores. Amazon, & other online retailers, as well it can be ordered through Indigo/Chapters & local book stores.

Cover of Momma Cried, and the four brothers and their stories of the Second World War

Cape Breton Soul Food Publishing

  • A creative nonfiction book told by four brothers who fought in the Second World War, their parents, grandparents back home in rural Canada, prior to, and after the war

  • The stories bring to the forefront human suffering and sacrifices made by Canadians who enlisted for the sake of their country and the ideals for which they fought

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  • We witness heartfelt battles on and off the frontlines, hits and misses, and OMGS

  • We follow four humble, salt-of-the earth men through lifelong journeys, battles, and unexpected twists in fate. We laugh, cry, and shake our head

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  • Themes are universal, creating a war book like no other, universal in its nature

  • It shows the brothers as growing, boys, young soldiers, older men, birth to death

  • A terrific resource in any high school classroom, Momma Cried highlights world events, and the realities of life for young people their age when the Second World War broke out

  • We discover the cost of war on the men, families, soldiers, countries, the world 

  • A book of truth, scars, loss, obligation, propaganda, inspiration, and a raw face on war.

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