Albert Loved Sylvia

This is a unique love story about a young man named Joseph Albert Gagne and the woman who captivated his heart and hopes named Sylvia Dorothy Tietjen, the author's maternal grandparents. Albert, as he was known, was born on Valentine's Day in 1905, the fourteenth of twenty children born to an amazingly resilient French Canadian couple who migrated from Quebec to New Hampshire. Albert's resilient and loving spirit came from his upbringing. 

The author never had the privilege of meeting these grandparents in person. She grew to know and love them through stories told by her mother, and through ancestry research. In this book she knits together the pieces of their lives from a few personal photographs that survived water damage, historical records, and her mother's journal and oral stories, as well as contributions from Gagne cousins found during her research. She discovered a story worthy of the time and effort to write and publish it as a gift to her family. She shares their story with the world in hope that it will help others heal from loss and grief. 

The story of Albert and Sylvia is both tragic and beautiful. Readers may find the tragic parts difficult, as it deals with losses due to suicide and stillbirth. But overall, this is an uplifting, empowering story of family love that overcomes all things, of kindness and gentleness, hard work and hopefulness. The portrait on the cover is Sylvia, the author's grandmother, est. age 17-19.