Francene Gillis

Francene (Jessome) Gillis, a dedicated Cape Breton author writes a weekly column for the Inverness Oran (35 years), is a former high school teacher (Dalbrae Academy) and educator for 30 plus years. Living in the serene village of Port Hood, triumph, tragedy and advocacy shape her fiction and nonfiction writing. She majored in English at St.F.X. University in Nova Scotia, obtained her BA, B.Ed, and M.Ed., 2014. Proactive in education and literacy work, highlights include: running her own business 1994-1997; authoring A Rose In November (1994); working as maritime consultant—CCLOW (Canadian Congress Learning Opportunities for Women); consultant on several Nova Scotia Department of Education committees and advisory boards; editing and reviewing for Pearson Canada; writing and reviewing for Canada’s National History magazine; winning an Atlantic newspaper, journalism investigative award; and an excellence in teaching award (2015) from Canada’s History. In 2016, a serious fall dropped her into the thorny, invisible world of head injuries and PCS (Post-concussion Syndrome). Her writing journals and eye therapy evolved into a book to help others.