A Propos • About

I have been a vegetarian since 1993 and a vegan since 1996. I made this lifestyle choice because it made sense to me from an animal rights point of view as well as an environmental and health perspective. Over the course of the past 2 years I have struggled with my veganism, but I am back on the bandwagon and feeling 100% better for it.

I grew up just outside of Montreal and have lived here for the past 21 years. I am currently studying Naturotherapy at the Natural Health Consultants Institute and I sit on the Board of Directors for Head and Hands – an amazing nonprofit organization that provides health, legal and social services to Montreal youth. I have a great love for the performing arts both as a spectator and as performer, producer and writer.

I am bilingual, but it takes more time and effort for me to write well in French. I am actually Quèbecoise (pure laine in fact) with my ancestors coming from France in the 1600s. They converted to Protestantism in the early 1900s and subsequently my whole family went to Protestant schools from then on. This meant of course English schooling for us because the French Protestants are a very rare breed indeed and there were no French protestant schools  - hence my Anglophone-ness. As if being Quèbecoise wasn’t complicated enough.

I share my apartment with two feline companions Rufus and Martha and a finicky fern named Walter. – Brooksie aka Michelle

I was, until recently, a Québécoise expat living in the United States (Pennsylvania and Nevada) for the past 7 years. While living “down there” I started experiencing health troubles due to the difference in food and agricultural regulations which had made an impact on my French Canadian digestive system. Living in Philly I was introduced to a vegetarian lifestyle that was both affordable and doable and decided to adopt this new health mantra! Making the switch to veganism came a few years later (mainly due to the inaccessibility of vegan items to a rural PA citizen without a car aka me). The switch for me was logical as when I did enquire about vegetarianism I had always had an issue trying to understand why drinking milk and eating eggs was OK. So, when I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and learned that cutting dairy was suggested I dove right into veganism! Now that I am back in Montreal I am able to walk to various grocery stores and get all my vegan items!

I have obtained a classical music college degree from Vincent D’Indy, and I am on my way to a homoeopathy certificate at the American College Of Healthcare Sciences and will be going back to school shortly. I am passionate about environmental sciences and awareness, animal rights, activism, volunteering, green architecture and engineering, reading, cooking and baking as well as music and art in all its forms.

I am your stereotypical vegan aka woman in her 30s with full sleeve tattoos and who dabbles in nerdism and wears humongous ironic glasses (prescription), who also has an eclectic wardrobe, an iPod full of absurd music and an ever growing comic book/graphic novel collection. I live with a beagle named Kiefer Muffin-Top and a tiny kitten-sized cat called Yoda. We all get along in my tiny studio atop downtown Montreal buildings. When i was growing up I wanted to be the following: architect, geologist/seismologist, archeologist, professional figure skater or a rock star. I am none of those things in actual life.  You can read my personal blog here.  –Valerie