In a 270-page book, Richard Gauthier explores the themes of family and his youth from when he lived in his hometown of Otter Lake, Quebec. The book is a compilation of . . .

some of his fondest memories through the seasons, every chapter is a different month of the year.

Self-published author, Gauthier didn’t initially set out to do so when he retired on Jan. 15, 2020. After what was a great start to his retirement and a trip to Spain, when COVID hit he was faced with a lot of grief in his family and lost family members which really impacted him. One, in particular, was the death of his brother Christopher Gauthier, “it really affected me because he was my favourite brother.” To honour his memory Gauthier took to Facebook and started writing short stories and sharing them with family and friends, “this is sort of where the little fire started.” After all the positive feedback he was getting, he felt he had so much more to share and took to typing out his book of short stories.

Growing up Gauthier was a short, curious, boy with a name his father felt was too big for him, “so he called me Ricky instead of Richard,” he said, which is where the inspiration for the title of his book came from, “Little Ricky, The Boy from Otter Lake, A collection of cheerful memories.”

His family lived in the town and his father was a small engines repair mechanic, “if you needed your lawnmower or whatever fixed you would come to my father.” His brothers also worked at the shop and his mother would help out, but Gauthier was not mechanically savvy and didn’t see himself falling in the footsteps of his brothers.

“I need to be able to go beyond small-town life and beyond high school and build a career for myself,” he said. So, after high school he moved to Ottawa, applied to a Quebec government bursary to further his education in computer operations, which grew in popularity in the 80s. That springboarded him into a career writing technical documents and training material for various departments of the government.

His last memory writing narrative pieces was in high school, but “after graduating reality set in” and he never visited that creative side of himself until 2020. “I still was fortunate enough to use throughout my career, my writing abilities in my job.” said Gauthier.

He may have not known he was going to become a writer but after almost 33 years he was at his laptop doing what he knew how to do most. One of the first chapters titled “The Beginning” opens up with the love story of Gauthier’s parents afraid because little Ricky was born too soon. The chapters go on to cover the part of his young life from when he was born to the age of five. He talks about his sister who at first had her reservations about being in the book, but he said he couldn’t possibly write a book without her in it, “because you’re an important part of my life,” he recalls telling his sister.

With still so much to share, Gauthier will continue to write as he enjoys typing away at his laptop. If enough people enjoy the first book, he might invite his readers on a journey to explore his teen years in Shawville.

For anyone hoping to purchase the book it’s available on Amazon or you can contact Richard Gauthier by email to get purchase details at rickjmgauthier@sympatico.ca.

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