The Toll Road North: Book Talk with Peggy DeBlois

The Franco-American Collection at the University of Southern Maine invites you to join us on Monday, November 13, 2023 at 6 pm for a book talk with local author Peggy DeBlois. The event will be a reading, discussion and Q & A. Peggy’s presentation and readings will discuss fiction incorporating memories, strong women, French names and identity. There is no fee for our programs, which are made possible by the Québec Delegation in Boston.

The Toll Road North follows the character Dee, who lives a charmed life in Connecticut until she and her son are taken hostage while on a college visit in her hometown of Lewiston, Maine. When Dee recognizes the gunman, she is forced to face her secret-filled past. The French-Canadian, Catholic community of her youth is filled with betrayals, abandonment, and secret pregnancies. How will she reveal her shameful past to her husband, son, and friends? Dee makes the hard decision to face her truth and begins a quest to uncover the answers to questions she never dared ask as a child. We meet Dee’s and the young gunman’s ancestors who set the tone for the future generations of each of their families. As the reader follows Dee, her younger parents, and their friends, The Toll Road North explores the universal truth that we all create our adult persona, and often, no one in our present world really understands where we came from.

Peggy Lafreniere DeBlois grew up in Lewiston, Maine and is a proud graduate of Bowdoin College. She enjoyed careers in marketing, journalism, and teaching prior to devoting her time to writing. The Toll Road North is her first novel, and she continues to be inspired by the gritty beauty in her hometown.

The reading and Q & A will be hybrid. If you would like to join via Zoom, use this link to register: https://maine.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIld-qgrDgoG91y8mUhEL-2RdgU55RusKYn

For more information or to register for this event, contact the FAC archivist, Anna Faherty at anna.faherty@maine.edu or by phone (207) 753-6545. If you have questions about disability access or need to request disability accommodations (e.g. sign language interpreters, materials in electronic format, etc.), please contact Anna. Requests should be made as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for the accommodation process.

Interested in reading the book before the event? Join us for our book club! November 6th at 6pm