Few Canadians have fought harder or longer for national unity and bilingualism than Lowell Green. "That was then," says Green. "I have come full circle and am now convinced that it would be best for all concerned if Quebecers were to buck up their courage, cut the cord and, just as many other countries have done, become master in their own house." As is his style, Green, with humour, insight and well-researched facts, pulls no punches in making very powerful and persuasive arguments for what he calls a "velvet divorce" from Quebec. Includes the opinions of 90 different Canadians!

Few Canadians have fought harder or longer for national unity and bilingualism than Lowell Green. "That was then," says Green. "I have come full circle and am now convinced that it would be best for all concerned if Quebecers were to buck up their courage, cut the cord and, just as many other countries have done, become master in their own house." As is his style, Green, with humour, insight and well-researched facts, pulls no punches in making very powerful and persuasive arguments for what he calls a "velvet divorce" from Quebec. Includes the opinions of 90 different Canadians

A language barrier is no match for love. Lauren Collins discovered this firsthand when, in her early thirties, she moved to London and fell for a Frenchman named Olivier—a surprising turn of events for someone who didn’t have a passport until she was in college. But what does it mean to love someone in a second language? Collins wonders, as her relationship with Olivier continues to grow entirely in English. Are there things she doesn’t understand about Olivier, having never spoken to him in his native tongue? Does “I love you” even mean the same thing as “je t’aime”? When the couple, newly married, relocates to Francophone Geneva, Collins—fearful of one day becoming "a Borat of a mother" who doesn’t understand her own kids—decides to answer her questions for herself by learning French. When in French is a laugh-out-loud funny and surprising memoir about the lengths we go to for love, as well as an exploration across culture and history into how we learn languages—and what they say about who we are. Collins grapples with the complexities of the French language, enduring excruciating role-playing games with her classmates at a Swiss language school and accidently telling her mother-in-law that she’s given birth to a coffee machine. In learning French, Collins must wrestle with the very nature of French identity and society—which, it turns out, is a far cry from life back home in North Carolina. Plumbing the mysterious depths of humanity’s many forms of language, Collins describes with great style and wicked humor the frustrations, embarrassments, surprises, and, finally, joys of learning—and living in—French.

Through her engaging memoir, author Margaret Herle shares a pioneering tale of life on the road. After deciding to retire in a home on wheels, Herle and her husband satisfied their cravings for travels (and being warm in winters!) on their own terms, exploring every province in Canada, most of the US, and the entire length of the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. From tourist destinations to unexpected offbeat spots, they found more adventure than they imagined in their converted bus, the Dragonfly. Readers can come along for the ride with one of the original “vanlifers” who dared to give up a fixed address for an undetermined time and fulfill a love of travel in retirement—meeting locals, discovering different cultures, finding and immersing in new communities, and overcoming some epic challenges. For anyone interested in the #vanlife trend, Herle’s journey throughout North America in the 1990s—told through her reflections and personal letters to family—is an inspiration to choose the unordinary lifestyle and live your dream.