Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay - La fille d’elle-même

2021, 2023, Canada, French, Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay, Gabrielle Tremblay,

Original title: "La fille d’elle-même" (The Daughter of Herself) by Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay. The book was published in 2021 and republished in 2023.

"Winner 2022, Prix des Libraires Rights for TV adaptation purchased by Zone 3 A runaway bestseller in Québec, where it has captured the hearts of readers and pushed trans-identity into the mainstream conversation, Dandelion Daughter is an intimate, courageous portrait of what it’s like to grow up having been assigned the wrong sex at birth.

Set against the windswept countryside of the remote Charlevoix region some five hours north of Montreal, Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay’s autobiographical novel immortalizes her early years as an alienated boy trapped in a world of small-town values and her parents’ dissolving marriage, through complex adolescent years of self-discovery and first loves, to the harrowing episodes that fuel the growing realization that she must transition and give birth to her new self if she is to continue living at all. One of the first novels of its kind to appear in Québec, this inspiring story has already connected with a wide readership, and has been adopted by many schools to help expand worldviews and curriculums." 

"In a Quebec village, on the edge of a coniferous forest, a little girl feels different; everyone thinks she's a boy. Her shoes are always too small, her mushroom haircut far from the hair she dreams of, she is called a tomboy, smokes cigarettes to stop growing and drags a dead boy in her wallet throughout her teenage years. Until one day, she decided to leave Saint-Siméon and become herself." 

 "This is a sublime coming-of-age novel: we deal with the absence of a father, with the cracks of a mother, we feel cramped in our village as well as in our bodies, and so we leave for other territories, literally and figuratively, to see if the grass is greener elsewhere. And, not incidentally at all, to give birth to oneself."

Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay is a talented Canadian actress and writer. Born on July 27, 1990, she hails from Saint-Siméon in the Charlevoix region of Quebec. Gabrielle published her debut poetry collection, Le Ventre des volcans (The Belly of Volcanoes), with Éditions de l’Étoile de mer in 2015. Her second poetry collection, Les secrets de l’origami (The Secrets of Origami), was released by Del Busso Éditeur in 2018. In 2021, she unveiled her first autobiographical novel, La fille d’elle-même (The Girl of Herself), a powerful coming-of-age story about a child navigating trans identity in a vibrant yet sometimes harsh Quebec. The novel received acclaim and was awarded the Prix des libraires du Québec (Quebec Booksellers’ Prize) in 2022. 

Gabrielle made her debut in feature films with a role in Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n’ont fait que se creuser un tombeau (Those Who Make Revolutions Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves) in 2016. Her portrayal of Klas Batalo earned her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Canadian Screen Awards - a historic moment as the first trans woman nominated in this category. She also appeared in Saint-Narcisse (2020), directed by Bruce LaBruce. Gabrielle has been part of music videos, documentaries, and TV shows. Her journey as a trans woman and her creative contributions continue to inspire and resonate with audiences.

Available via Amazon

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