Posted at 8:00 am
“As of 5:45 this morning, I’m a grandmother and it’s a little girl,” said Dominique Bertrand enthusiastically upon arriving at Il Cortile restaurant, his headquarters, in downtown Montreal last Wednesday. A little more and we wanted to celebrate the announcement of this great news with champagne at 11am as the former model and hostess is so excited to be a grandma. “I’ll be 65 at the end of the month, I was ready! I think it rejuvenates us, it puts us back in touch with the magic of childhood, it’s extraordinary. »
“Difficult but bright”
Secret Gardens of Nettles is the title of his fourth book and third novel, after his autobiography Démaquillée, then Le pot au rose and Le coeur gros. Rising from the ashes is the central theme of this novel, in which Clara, a desperate woman from a wealthy background, finds herself in a run-down motel on the edge of La Vérendrye Park. There she meets Richard, a skinned truck driver who can’t love anyone anymore, and Symone, a young pregnant waitress who is beaten by her husband Bob, the motel owner. Clara, Richard and Symone will help each other, settle their scores and get out of this painful moment in their lives. This is a novel of unlikely encounters in which Dominique Bertrand uses dark humor to tackle very difficult subjects such as rape, incest and violence against women.
“It’s a difficult book, but at the same time it’s luminous because my characters, despite their suffering, have a zest for life. The subjects dealt with are very hard, but no harder than life, it is a reflection of society. I can’t take anymore to see the news, to see all this violence against women and children. And most importantly, I wanted to give my characters a chance to pursue a fantasy that we all have at some point in our lives, to settle accounts in their own way, which the law doesn’t allow. It’s fiction, so I gave my characters everything and it was exciting to write,” the author admits.
CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Dominic Bertrand
It is the revenge of women who have been abused by violent men. They destroy their lives just as these men destroyed the lives of their victims.
Dominique Bertrand, author
According to Dominique Bertrand, many people have secret gardens and most are filled with nettles. “Some people have a facet of their life or personality that they don’t want to reveal because it hurts…that’s the case with my characters. You can never erase your past, but you can be reborn from its ashes. When we’re at our worst, when we’ve hit rock bottom, when we find the right person, the right support, we’re often able to come back to the light. It takes time, it takes love, tenderness, listening, but we are capable. »
Become a better person
The author admits that she herself was reduced to rubble in 1998 when her husband died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 49 while playing squash. “He left in the morning and never came back,” she said. For three years I was in deep sorrow, for a year and a half I cried every night, it was very difficult. But I rebuilt myself and today I’m not the same person, grief changes us. In the worst case, we can persevere, and that makes us grow, that makes us better. I’m a better, more caring person than I’ve ever been. »
To get out of this, you have to get help, she believes.
You can’t go through life without leaning on someone at some point. Life is too hard today, we don’t have the same social structure as we used to. People are alone, terribly alone, and the pandemic hasn’t helped matters.
Dominique Bertrand, author
We mustn’t give up, that’s what she wants to convey with this novel, never stop hoping. “People who are going through the worst time in their lives we need to tell them that they can come out of this, we need more psychologists and psychiatrists. I’ve had a psychiatrist for 20 years who got me out of my depression and I was fortunate to have him to count on,” she adds.
Dominique Bertrand had more good news to share as Zone 3 has already acquired the television adaptation rights to his novel. Therefore, a television series will be created next year. “For an author, knowing that your characters will come to life on screen is a bit of a consecration, I’m very upset! It’s a new experience for me, I’ll probably be a consultant, but that’s not my job, I’ll leave the team of professionals I trust completely. »
Secret gardens full of nettles
Dominic Bertrand
Editions Flammarion Quebec
256 pages