The Point Of No Return (Le Point De Non Retour)

by Sharon Desruisseaux, Karen Brooks (Photographer), Roger Brooks (Editor)

Imagine leaving all you know behind for good to head for a land so far away and different that it is beyond your wildest dreams? That is what the Hebert family did. In fact they had a very profitable business in running an apothecary in downtown Paris and all was perfect. That is for anyone else, but them. Yet their dreams pushed and drove them to run for the unfathomable new world so far across the ocean. In those days, Canada was a vast wilderness filled with mystery and promise .Untouched and raw. Anything could happen. Louis Hebert went ahead to the new world to see what it was all about and in hopes of bringing his family there to settle. His wife Marie, however, was not to be undone for though she was safe in Paris in the beginning of it all; she was acquiring skills of her own to survive and prepare for making their dreams a reality. She learned the skills necessary to survive in the rough and open terrain of New France with no possibility of help. Marie was raised as the daughter of a wealthy merchant and her husband was a successful apothecary-would she learn those new skills required for a family to survive alone so far from any aid? And then, what about actually getting there? It was so far away and almost inaccessible. Follow Louis Hebert as he learned to navigate the politics of the era. France was more than eager to jump aboard to settle in the New World, yet they had plans of their own. They wanted all they could gain in profits from there and the fur trade was just showing its promise. King Henry IV was more than willing to have his people settle in the infinite terrain overseas, yet not too thrilled about funding them. He had his eye on the profit and thus the fur monopolies were started. Once they were underway the wars began for full control over territory in the New World. And then there was the land battle....Enter Samuel Champlain, a young navigator and cartographer who inquisitively had his eyes on finding a route to the Orient where he could see in his dreams of wealth and riches - cities populated by the French along the way. And yet, the land drew him and roped him in. Trip after trip from France to Arcadie-the land he sought to claim for France, the land found his heart warming all the more with each trip he made. Will he find his trade route? Well, history tells us that answer of course. And there was Jean Poutrincourt, a nobleman from a daunting lineage. This was a man who saw hope and glory. He was the younger son and had luckily inherited his fair share of his family's estate, yet it was not enough. He wanted more. He saw in his dreams at night a huge Chateau on rolling hills and his descendants growing fat off the food of the land. He spent every penny he owned and from his wife's dowry in doing all he could with each cell of his aging body to make his dreams come true. With his wit and charm it almost seemed possible, yet; again there was the politics of the era. Road block after roadblock and with the will of all-somehow they managed to take that first terrifying step in a land so very far away from all they had even known. Such bravery and determination is noted well by the author in this epic tale of such remarkable and profound people.
Revised November 17, 2012 For more on this author you can find her on Facebook or at her author site at www.sharondnovels.com

Genres: Historical Fiction

805 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 2011

About the author

Sharon Desruisseaux is the author of "Cleopatra Selene, Legacy of the Sun and Moon" and the second edition of that novel which she broke into three books. The first two are currently published and are "Legacy of the Moon" and "Under the Shadow of the Moon". This series “From the Sands of Egypt to Eternity” was inspired by her travels to Egypt and her lifelong interest in ancient Egyptian history. This series takes place in the time when Rome was just establishing its Empire and Egypt had begun to fall into its all-encompassing grasp. The author enthusiastically conveys the reader into the lives of the children of the legendary Cleopatra VII, when they were initially prisoners of Rome, to becoming monarchs under the thumb of Augustus-the first Emperor of Roma Dea. It is the story of Cleopatra Selene and her siblings as they struggle to survive in a world turned upside down. They find a home in Numidia, and then Mauretania, and even venture out to the lands of the Celts of Gaul and Britannia. The author merges all of those fascinating cultures with incredible research into that era that redefines in creative and enterprising detail what life was like for such amazing people well written about in history. It gives one a completely innovative and redefined perspective into that time. Recently, she published her third book of the Series: "The Chronicles of a Dynasty Past", which is an illustrated compilation of the memoires of Cleopatra Selene and letters collected. This is an excellent and detailed account of the first two novels and lines it all into place with dimension.

Ms. Desruisseaux is also the author of a magnificent and witty collection of blogs encompassing her struggles, hardships, and laughter on moving from busy Massachusetts to owning a small farm in the middle of Maine called, "Sharon's Wicked Awesome Blog Book".

In her quest for ancient theology, she has written, "Au Set, the Woman", which is her perspective on how the mythology of ancient Egypt regarding Isis and her siblings, was created from a reality that just might be possible. She situated this series in a time before history was even written giving it a realistic flair for the myth to come alive for the reader in a historical fiction format. She splendidly illustrates Predynastic Egypt intense and vital before the reader's eyes, giving insight into a picture long forgotten and covered in the sands of Kemet. Ms. Desruisseaux has recently published the second edition of this novel called "Au Set of Kemet".

In her quest for searching for her own roots, she discovered a completely new area to write about and thus she has started this with the first historical fiction novel of that series on the early French settlers to Canada in a time before the pilgrims. She found a bold and courageous group of people to write about and has started with the novel, "Le Point de non Retour" or "The Point of no Return". Which is the amazing story of the premier settlers of them all, Louis and Marie Hebert. This series is known as "The Beginning of a Dream".

Always looking for things to write about, the author in her own modern times has not found any lack. For her latest book is about two women who endure a toxic work environment at an insurance agency. They start to settle since the economy leaves them little choice-but then again-it would not make such a good book if they did, would it? In her book "Evil Sells" she gives the women a voice and with it a drive to not be victimized. Do they get even with their employer? Maybe, or do the evil ways of Leo Cyfer overcome their will to be heard? She has also recently published her gothic and literary ghost story of a home in Maine and all encountered there in pure classic literary mode perfect for the wilds of Maine and the eerie haunted home and trials of those living, or not, within the archaic walls. This haunting tome is called, “A Tenacious grasp on Reality.”

The author is diligently working hard on getting thos

Reviews

[Larry Basden · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. It seemed well researched (genealogical research of a descendant) and covered a period I had not read about before. But, I just couldn't get beyond the errors. I felt that the book was originally written in another language (likely French) but was either translated by some Internet translation engine or scanned using OCR software. The errors (would have passed a spell checker but the wrong word used) and structure (terribly awkward and sometimes downright wrong) just made the reading painful (but I did stick it out to the end). Perhaps the Kindle version I read has been rehabilitated. I hope so.

[Bryant Fielding · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written. Looking forward to the next novel. The time period is one not often written of. The adventures were amazing and well researched. Definate page turner!

[Roger Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book, a great read for History buffs. This author has done a good deal of research in early American History. A must read for someone of French Canadian descent.--R.Brooks

[Cathy Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Waiting for book two...

I love historical novels. This book is a great blend of history and presumably some fiction to fill in the gaps. A great read for those interested in anthropology of the early settlers in the Americas. The only niggle is that the book needs another proofread but as it's a translation I haven't marked it down.

[Caroline · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to read this book, by borrowing it via Amazon Prime. I honestly couldn't get past the prologue and the first two pages of the first chapter. I wanted so badly to like it because I have ancestry in French Canada. But it desperately needs a good copyeditor (grammar, punctuation, and syntax are weak, not to mention repetition of words in consecutive sentences), and the historical part in the prologue was chronologically confused in narration as well as not something that rings true as written by the character in question; having just read a biography of Mary Queen of Scots, who was married to the son of Catherine de Medicis, I was fresh from some of those details and this made hash of them. I gave the author two stars for her research, which is probably quite good, but I just can't read the book... sorry.