Lessons and Memories

About the Book

Taking us through more than a half century of living and learning, the book tells the story of one extended family through various experiences related in the form of vignettes. Each major section is preceded by a relevant photographic sketch. The featured couple’s strength comes from a common heritage, faith, and socio-economic background. Life for them is often filled with unexpected growth and pleasures such as a growing awareness of how blessed they have been. The adult children in the family make what, for their parents’ generation, are uncommon choices in spouses—not just in skin color but in nationality and religious persuasions as well. At a large gathering, they are referred to as a “mini United Nations”. The book clearly shows that no one has all the answers but that a lived faith, hope, and charity reap many rewards. Originally intended as a family memoir, the work took on wings of its own as it met with encouraging reviews of the original script. It is a work to be enjoyed and savored, one small section at a time, even if one does not share the author’s frame of reference.

About the Author

Claudette Andree Turcotte Burque was born into a Franco-Canadian family living about an hour north of Montreal, Quebec. The family moved to Massachusetts when she was in elementary school. After graduating from Rivier College, Nashua, NH, she married her husband, Rene. They raised four children in their almost 50 years together. During that time, she completed work on a Master of Arts in Teaching as well as a Master of Arts in Applied Theology with a specialization in Religious Education. Currently, she is active in her church family, facilitating bible studies; in the Columbus, GA, Lifelong Learning group (CALL); and in quilting-related activities. She especially treasures time spent visiting eleven grandchildren scattered from coast to coast. Writing about her faith and family life has been a lifelong hobby as well as a requirement for some of her career-related work such as Director of Religious Education and free-lance writer. She remembers the long-ago summers spent on her grandparents’ farm writing anectodal experiences on cut-open brown wrapping paper with a pencil as the only tools available. Since the 1990’s she has had several articles published in Catholic periodicals. Some of these are included in this collection. This book was created to share with others teachable moments experienced during her busy lifetime. In so doing, she hopes to lighten and brighten the experience of others’ lives.