Description
"There is a cross above my head and I stare at it with all the fury that dwells within me."
The girl in the next bed moans like a cow giving birth. That's what we are. Sows, cows, filthy, unworthy. I swore to myself that no sound would come out of my mouth. I won't give them the pleasure of hearing me suffer. That's what they want, for us to suffer. In this vast dormitory, we give birth. I am an unwed mother. My name is Marie. Like the Virgin.
Montreal, 1960. On the cusp of the Quiet Revolution, fourteen-year-old Marie discovers she is pregnant. She is sent to a convent, away from the shame, where she is expected to pay for her transgression. Stripped of her identity, she is taken from her, her name, her dignity, and then her baby. She will spend the rest of her life trying to heal from this loss.
Inspired by a true story – by so many stories, in fact – Ingrid Falaise sheds light on a dark chapter of Quebec's past, resurrects silenced voices and strives towards collective healing.
