Reply To: The spirit of the Three Pines community
Legends and myths relayed tales of Anne Lamarque and other women who were accused of being witches being banished to the forests across the river from Montreal. It was thought that possibly these women had survived the dangers of the wilderness and were the founders of Three Pines. “Three Pines was a safe place, they’d declared. Not safe from hurt or pain. Not from illness and accident and death. What the village in the valley offered was a place to heal. It offered company and companionship, in life and at the end of life. It offered a surefire cure for loneliness. Like the women who were fleeing for their lives, almost everyone in the village now had come there to find a safe haven.” After recovering from the life threatening events with Fleming that occurred in their home, the Gamache family returned to the open, loving arms of the villagers in Three Pines. They were home again where their recovery would continue as they began the process of living without fear. Coping with and healing from tragedies is always easier with the help of friends and family. I can still feel my daughter’s hand on my shoulder that freezing winter morning of my father’s funeral. It was that simple gesture on her part that reminded me that I would get through this loss, I didn’t have to do it alone, I would survive the grief. My daughter was my Three Pines.