I'm fascinated with your book [Cajun By Any Other Name]. I feel like I know all those places you speak of.  Must be because I've driven so often to Massachusetts and feel that the route all the way to Louisiana must be of the same type and conditions, so it makes me feel as though I know that whole route by now.

When I'm reading your book, I feel as though I'm sitting in the front passenger seat of your car as you are driving down all those little lanes in the countryside. It's a very powerful feeling which comes over me as soon as I open your book - makes me feel as though I'm just coming home after a space of  several years away. I must be the reincarnated descendant of some of those Acadians who settled in Louisiana in the 1700s!

I love the story and you wrote it so well that I feel like I'm actually there with our people. I'm going through it more slowly than usual, because I want to be sure I don't miss a thing. Sometimes I even read a page twice and try to picture those places and events with my own imagination. What a thrill to feel like I'm actually there with the rest of "our family," playing in the fields, picking berries, and running the lanes with you!
I hope you write more books of this nature.  I'll be a good customer!

J.D. Leblanc (Nova Scotia, Canada)

"A short note to express my gratitude in receiving the beautifully written and illustrated book [Cajun By Any Other Name] today that impressed me highly. I certainly got a chuckle when I came across ‘Mémère and Pépère’ for those are such old terms we seldom hear nowadays.

"I am also grateful Marie, to you, for signing off on the book to me for that made it even more special and for including my part in Emile’s genealogy searches for his family roots. Our common heritage is very meaningful to us both, and I am ever so appreciative in the manner for which you credited my involvement in this matter... If my maternal line should ever show up in any book you should happen to write, I would again be ever so thankful in receiving a copy.

"Once again, I thank you,"

Gratefully Yours,

--Manon G. Bolduc (British Columbia, Canada)

 "Love the book [Cajun By Any Other Name].... good job....  Michel David, Genevieve Hebert and Angelique (David) Oubre would be proud to be remembered...."

--Earl David (USA)

"Hi Marie, 

"I finished reading your book [Cajun By Any Other Name] today and I truly enjoyed it. I found out that we are related through the Gautrot and Marguerite would be an aunt. 

"History is fascinating and the snap shots of that period you describe in your book of Louisiana and Maryland were very interesting and fascinating. Life was hard and the Acadians persisted to carve a place in History. Tu rends hommage à nos ancêtres!

"...From my understanding the US is a melting pot of all nationalities and one official language. In Canada its easier for people to maintain their language and custom. Today's generation in Canada are intermarrying a lot and the melting pot effect may be on its way.

"Your message at the end of the book speaks to me wholeheartedly.

"To dance to the music of our genes is sweet harmony and peace. The sword of division is put away only to help us unite and listen. A forest is filled with biodiversity, the tops of the trees touches the sky, the roots of trees intertwine and support. If we listen closely we can hear the voice of Mother Earth telling the story of our Indian Ancestors and all others who walked it and changed its face.  Thank you Marie for your passion and sharing it. You are an inspiration."

Paul Allaire (Ontario, CA)

"I finished reading "Cajun by Any Other Name".
Very nice read Marie!.. and well presented... Merci"
...Delina P. (Nova Scotia, CA)

"This story [Cajun By Any Other Name] parallels the journey and struggles of many (Acadian) surnames of the Deportation..Thank you Marie for gathering and sharing this information."
..Singing Bear (Louisiana, USA)

"I bought your book [Revisiting Anne Marie], it was very interesting and a good read. I wondered if it would help me, some of the marriages you've listed may come in handy. The way you expressed situations made me feel like I was right there. It's impressive. You should be so proud, that's a great book, well done!"
...Jennifer C. (Ontario, CA)

"Hi Marie ...
 
"Received the Cajun By Any Other Name books. My family was very anxious to get one, now they all have one, it was so professionally well-written. I was so happy when I received it.  Now,  my family are learning all about their ancestors. Thanks for writing this book, it's so very interesting, we can't put it down.  Your book " Cajun By Any Other Name " is being read with enthusiasm, from New England  to British Columbia ...very interesting and impressive ..."


Emile Broome (New Hampshire, USA)

"Hi Marie:
 
"I was reading through your book, Cajun By Any Other Name, again, and it made me think about just how intertwined my ancestry is with yours, along with every other person of Acadian- Mi'kmaq ancestry. One, I was thinking of was my grandfather Honore' Trahan.  He was captured by the English in Maine, and was listed as Mi'kmaq. He was deported to Port Tobacco, Maryland, and left for Louisiana with his family including another of my grandfathers, Blaise Lejeune, who was Honore's orphaned nephew. Their ship got blown off course and ended up in Texas where they were held prisoner for six months before being allowed to go to Louisiana.
 
"I remember reading about an ancestor of yours from Martinique. It is kind of neat because my grandfather Michel Doucet and his family, after being released from the Halifax prison, ended up in Haiti for a year before going to Louisiana.
 
"And I know you have German and Swiss ancestors, which I do not, but I was really surprised to find out years ago about the huge impact the Germans had on the Cajun culture. I went to High School in La Place, Louisiana, in St John the Baptist Parish, which as you know is right in the middle of the German Coast. La Place is famous for its Andouille Festival, honoring a sausage that no Cajun would live without. It was interesting that andouille actually came from the Germans. And then there is of course the most Cajun of musical instruments, the accordion, another contribution of the Germans.
 
"So it really does amaze me how all this ties together, then multiply that by the numbers who have similar ancestry. I really did enjoy your book."
 
Keith Doucet (Louisiana, USA)

"I just completed your book "Revisiting Anne Marie". WOW! What an amazing journey you have had and will continue to have as you delve further into your Acadian-Mi'kmac heritage. I was mesmerized as I continued to read on and on. So many of your reflections and emotions mirrored my own as I continue to assist my mother in her genealogical research.

"I want to thank you for your awe-inspiring writing of your own personal journey and also for taking the time to travel down to Louisiana and meet all of us. I know we did not have a chance to talk much with all the goings-on of everything these past few days but I want you to know that you touched us both very deeply.

"You have also re-ignited my passion for writing and I have decided to begin a journal of my own journey as I find out for myself (and not just from the endless handwritten pedigree charts and family group sheets of my mother's research) the true identity of my ancestors, how they lived and loved, and just how much they have handed down to me through the bloodlines."
 --Christine Guidry Law, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA