At 98, still just as energetic, cosmopolitan, curious about everything, generous and fabulously “enlightened,” Janette Bertrand has revisited her autobiography My life in three acts, published in 2004. She read it all again, took notes, thought seriously and reviewed in her “novel of life” almost a century of women’s stories and much of the history of Quebec society. Nothing escapes Janette and in this book she shares her views on current society. His wish: that young people pick up this new edition, which will appear in bookstores tomorrow, and read it carefully.
In “My Life in Three Acts” Janette Bertrand tells her story from her childhood in the “faubourg à m’lasse” to her 70th birthday. At the same time, she passionately remembers the history of the women of her century: their struggles, their victories, their challenges.
This new edition of My Life in Three Acts features a photo of a “charm bracelet” given to her long ago by her first husband. The pendants should represent their desires: a pair of scissors, a bissel broom, a cradle, a heart, a diary, a frying pan. She threw it in the trash.
“Listen… is the path we’ve taken extraordinary? In a short time,” she comments in a telephone interview, a few minutes after filming a program that will be broadcast during the holiday season. “We talk about the Quiet Revolution, but there was also the women’s revolution. Apparently there was no blood. It was a more than quiet revolution. But without even consulting each other, we revolted.”
The new edition of the book “My Life in Three Acts” contains forewords by Léa Clermont-Dion and Guy A. Lepage. Marie-France Bornais
“This book needs to be put in the hands of young people so that they know where they come from, so that they don’t take everything that happens to them for granted,” she adds.
Janette Bertrand follows the news and closely observes what is happening in today’s society here and elsewhere. “There could be setbacks, even though we have worked so hard to be close to level. Girls, we’re good at everything when we were told we were only good at making babies.”
Janette Bertrand believes that she was representative of all those women who didn’t want to be “just a girl”. “I was raised as a housewife. I said to myself: I can be a housewife, but I can also be something else. That’s what I did. It is a book as a tribute to the development of women, which happened very quickly and without bloodshed.”
Proud of young fathers
What makes you proudest right now? “At the moment, young fathers are just discovering fatherhood. Before, they were just providers. The children belonged to their wives. I have 40-year-old grandchildren who have friends and they are all exceptional fathers.”
“I hope that they will discover the pleasure of living with a woman as equals. It’s not competition, it’s completeness. There are still men who feel like their place is taken. But they have to move forward,” remarks Janette.
“The men fell far behind because they didn’t take seriously that we would be good financiers and good deputies. They thought we were good mothers, as we have been for 8,000 years. We demand equality.”
Almost 100 years old
Janette Bertrand adds that this new edition prepares the publication of her next book, which will be published on her 100th birthday. “The fourth act is always the end!” she says with her infectious laugh. “I will tell what happened to me from the age of 70 to the age of 98. And also a lot of what my life has taught me. And what I want to convey.”
Almost 100 years old… “I didn’t think I would go there. And I got there from job to job. And that’s thanks to my intact head, which is exactly the same as before. It’s the greatest joy.”
My life in three actsNew edition
Janette Bertrand
Forewords by Léa Clermont-Dion and Guy A. Lepage
Editions Libre Expression
480 pages
- Janette Bertrand is a great communicator and prolific writer. She has written newspaper articles, novels, essays and numerous television dramas.
- She has created and hosted several shows that aim to break down prejudices and taboos.
- She has received numerous prizes and awards, including the Guy Corneau Homage Prize 2021.
- She is involved in a Montreal Geriatrics Institute Foundation project called “Seniors in Need of Models.” Learn more : figm.ca
“I want to raise myself like my brothers, do my classical lessons like them, but I owe obedience to my parents.
[ Aujourd’hui, je me vante d’être désobéissante. D’ailleurs, l’obéissance
telle que je l’ai connue a presque disparu, parce que les parents
communiquent beaucoup plus avec leurs enfants. ]
Obedience! Children must obey their parents,
as parents must obey the church. The parents
know what is good for their children. The church knows this
This is good for parents. I want to break this cycle and
I present my case to my father, but he doesn’t understand.
— A classic course? Change diapers!
Bastard, you girl, you don’t need that!”
– Janette Bertrand, My life in three acts – New edition, Éditions Libre expression
• Also read: Stop “Fake News”
• Also read: Janette Bertrand: The long road to repair