The Postman: Connecting to Live Better

BETTING À DAY

Writer, translator, Tai Ji Quan instructor and energy therapist, Montrealer Julie Turconi recounts, in her new novel The Postman< strong>, three lives, three trajectories that converge as well as links that are woven to better enjoy the present time and rebuild oneself.  

Between François, who left the army, and Madeleine, an old lady who finds loneliness very heavy, a friendship is born, over the meetings, over the words. Their destinies intersect… under the gaze of an old tomcat.

François became a postman after leaving the army. He was looking for a solitary job that would allow him to manage his post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Madeleine no longer has anyone by her side. Age weighs on him, loneliness too and his eyesight is failing. However, only reading cuts the length of his days a little.

In the surroundings, an old tomcat marked by life and battles watches over his little world. Silent, he witnesses the life of the neighborhood and its inhabitants.

Julie Turconi, in an interview, says that the idea for the novel came a bit by chance, “like a remnant of a dream”. 

” I knew I had the idea of ​​a novel, but originally it was the idea of ​​a postman who stops on his way to read to an old woman. I had the idea of ​​an intergenerational relationship and two people who have something to contribute to each other. by life”. 

  I like to write about the flaws of humanity and what we can do to move forward. 

Post-traumatic stress

His postman, François, is a veteran struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. 

“I did not go to war. I don't know anyone who is an army veteran, personally. I know people who have mental health problems, that's for sure: we all know them. I don't know anyone who lived through war as a soldier, but my father, for example, was a child during the Second World War. He experienced it differently, as a child. And he lived it on the bad side since he was Italian. 

“ I would have liked to be able to discuss it with him, but it never happened: anyway , he didn't want to talk about it. Maybe it comes from that, from this desire to explore things that are a little bit related to my family, but in a rather distant way. »

Julie Turconi is of the opinion that a lot of people are in reconstruction right now. 

“ In our society, there are a lot of people who no longer find much meaning in their lives. We ask ourselves a lot of questions: where we are going, what is happening in the world. It has a huge impact on people's mental health. Psychological balance is important. And I liked the fact of giving tips and tricks for people: being in the present moment, it helps a lot.