Three upcoming author events featuring local writers will take place at the Picton Branch Library.

When you start out to research your family genealogy, you never know where the journey will take you. For Joanne Courneya Fralick, the journey took her all the way to South Dakota.

Researching her Cournyea family led to the discovery of relatives in the United States and following that thread, Joanne discovered a branch of her family spelling their last name “Cournoyer”.   As she explains, “The three eldest brothers of a Lakota Sioux family in 1880’s South Dakota are leading free lives on a large family ranch until the encroachment of modern society and white culture takes over….[before] joining up with the notorious cattle rustler Jack Sully. Together the Sully Gang steals more than 50,000 head of cattle and innumerable horses from 1885-1915.”    Part of the research for this book included a trip to South Dakota where she met members of her family in the Lakota Sioux tribe who still live in the same place. The story of the Cournoyer boys was so captivating that Joanne has turned it into historical fiction book. Rustlers, Renegades and Rogues: The Exploits of the Cournoyer Brothers will be the first in a trilogy with the following titles to be released in short order. Joanne Courneya Fralick will join us at the Picton Branch Library on Saturday, August 17 at 2 p.m. and will have copies available for sale.

 Nicole Flynn will join us on Thursday, September 26 at 2 p.m. to discuss her book, A Life Worth Living. Flynn shares her lived experience as a person who has T21, Down syndrome, as one of her intersectionalities. Flynn is a successful disability advocate speaking boldly about breaking barriers and challenging the status quo. As she said in an interview with Community Living, “I am full of determination and persistence. I don’t give up on myself, I go after what I want,” she says. “What do I want? I want to make my own choices.” 

On October 10 at 2 p.m., Lola Reid Allin will join us to discuss her book, Highway to the Sky: Women in Aviation History. She is a commercial airline transport pilot, flight instructor, SCUBA divemaster, and an award-winning author and photographer. As she notes, “With females making up just 5% of the world’s pilots, this memoir crosses genres to combine aviation history, the author’s journey from unwanted child to successful pilot, and the feminist experience, and will appeal to multiple aviation communities.”  Visit her website at lolareidallin.com to view a CBC interview with Lola and join us at the Picton Branch to learn more.