Books
Coming Summer 2026
Eating Grass (Manger de l'herbe)
The only time I’ve ever heard the expression "eating grass" was in the 1960s, on Nova Scotia’s “Franglais Shore,” in Yarmouth County where I grew up. There people spoke both French and English, often within a sentence. As in, “Watch out, tu manges de l’herbe.”
But Eating Grass (Manger de l'herbe) is not a compendium of cute local idioms, Lord knows we have enough of those already. Rather it is adult literary fiction, a love story at its heart, and a social commentary on a time and place that we can’t go back to.
Set in the late 1960s in a vibrant French-Canadian community influenced by both English-speaking neighbours and American radio, this comedic yet poignant first-person narrative follows teenager Tommy Breau on his journey to accept his culture amid the ups and downs of adolescence, including first love, family dynamics, and schoolyard antics. Somewhere along the way in his search for truth, our young protagonist adopts a conformity-bending personal philosophy he calls “eating grass”—a quiet but telling contrast to the rigid certainties of his Catholic upbringing.
As a child of the Sixties and of rural Acadian descent, this story is deeply personal to me and I believe I offer a unique cultural and historical perspective. Readers who enjoy energy, wit, and a touch of darkness will find Eating Grass (Manger de l'herbe) appealing, as will anyone who seeks temporary escape to simpler times. Or anyone who wants to drop in on a realistic, vivid setting they might previously have known nothing about.
WORKS IN PROGRESS
I am working on two more novels, which means I'll end up with a trilogy! More information to follow.
Eating Grass - The Sequel
Tommy Breau is now known as Tommy Bro, and even has his own radio show on the Annapolis U. campus. But he is not as cool as he thinks he is. In fact, he is quite homesick and out of his element. Luckily, he meets other young people who share his anxieties and dreams, and together they walk through the fog of war that is university.
But they also share flights of fancy. They think the Dean of Science is a spy who is having an affair with his secretary, that the Psychology professor is the paragon of “women’s lib” because she goes around braless, and that blood donation clinics are there to enable cheap drunks.
Some of which may actually be true; you’ll just have to read it to find out.
Eating Grass - The Prequel
Little Tommy Breau is only thirteen years old when this story opens, wide-eyed and innocent, earning money mowing lawns and gathering Irish moss with his friends, who are equally clueless about life and happy to embark on shenanigans with him.
In this story, we find out how Tommy came up with his “eating grass” philosophy, one day during a Sunday sermon, where our hero was an altar boy trying to stay awake during the homily. Having sipped some communion wine in the sacristy before mass may have had something to do with it.
We also get to find out how his true love got to grow into a passion that far exceeded his capacity to understand what was going through him.
Set in the same tiny village of Glen River (“Grand Ruisseau” to the elders), we get to experience more of the vivid characters and milieus we got to know in the first book.
And I need to finish writing it!