Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Huguette Bourgeois is a poet and writer from the small Canadian town of Rogersville, New Brunswick, where she grew up during the early 1950s. Known for her deeply reflective and profoundly personal style, she has published multiple works, including Alysse: An Acadian Refugee, a collection of short stories capturing the memories of her childhood and teenage years. Her recent work, Raw Sweets, is a collection of poems exploring life’s harshness, beauty, and unfiltered truths.
In this deeply personal conversation, Huguette shares the profound impact poetry and language have had on her life—guiding her through moments of intense personal tragedy, including her son’s diagnosis with schizophrenia, and leading her toward self-discovery and authenticity. She reflects openly on her complex relationship with faith, spirituality, and the existential questions that arise from hardship, ultimately suggesting there may be dignity in living—and dying—with uncertainty. Throughout the episode, Huguette reveals how embracing life’s darkness, doubt, and solitude can become a source of strength, creativity, and profound human insight.
Thank you for listening.
*EPISODE LINKS:*
Buy Huguette Bourgeois' Raw Sweets: amzn.to/3Gfjxu3
Buy Huguette Bourgeois' Alysse: An Acadian Refugee: amzn.to/4cExiyu
Buy Huguette Bourgeois' Le bleu de Mon Ile (French): amzn.to/3GeXQKS
Buy Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment: amzn.to/3EBmIfb
Buy Dostoyevsky' The Brothers Karamazov: amzn.to/3RtbFrj
By using these links, we earn commission from qualifying purchases.
*SHOW LINKS:*
Subscribe: youtube.com/@JeffreyPvanLeeuwen
Support the Show: patreon.com/JeffreyPvanLeeuwen
Listen on Apple Podcast: apple.co/4lLpEXA
Listen on Spotify: spoti.fi/42kcOYy
Follow on X: https://x.com/RealJvanLeeuwen
Follow on Instagram: instagram.com/jeffreypvanleeuwen
Follow on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jeffreypvanleeuwen
YouTube Playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOv56NTjNAeK7cUVamIPioSCsr06-vSGG
*OUTLINE:*
00:00 Introduction
01:45 What is Poetry?
09:10 Stories of Writing Poetry
19:37 Poetry as a Path to Spirituality & Meaning
23:54 Finding Your Voice
35:27 The Dark Side of Agreeableness
43:50 The Importance of Asking Questions
48:56 Authenticity & Identity
56:21 Echoes of Rejection & Love in Childhood
01:03:54 Love, Loss, and Happiness
01:08:32 Youngest Son’s Schizophrenia Diagnosis
01:17:03 Believing in God
01:33:52 The Danger of Blind Faith
01:44:06 Does Poetry Find the Poet, or Vice Versa?
01:48:06 The Endless Possibilities of Words
01:55:22 Can Words Fully Capture The Human Experience?
02:02:34 Fiction, Dragons, and The Human Experience
02:09:52 Closing Thoughts
02:15:17 Outro
*CONTACT LINKS:*
To come on the podcast, share feedback, ask a question, or reach out for any reason, visit: podcast.jeffreyvanleeuwen.com/p/contact
Huguette Bourgeois is a poet and writer from the small Canadian town of Rogersville, New Brunswick, where she grew up during the early 1950s. Known for her deeply reflective and profoundly personal style, she has published multiple works, including Alysse: An Acadian Refugee, a collection of short stories capturing the memories of her childhood and teenage years. Her recent work, Raw Sweets, is a collection of poems exploring life’s harshness, beauty, and unfiltered truths.
In this deeply personal conversation, Huguette shares the profound impact poetry and language have had on her life—guiding her through moments of intense personal tragedy, including her son’s diagnosis with schizophrenia, and leading her toward self-discovery and authenticity. She reflects openly on her complex relationship with faith, spirituality, and the existential questions that arise from hardship, ultimately suggesting there may be dignity in living—and dying—with uncertainty. Throughout the episode, Huguette reveals how embracing life’s darkness, doubt, and solitude can become a source of strength, creativity, and profound human insight.
Thank you for listening.
*EPISODE LINKS:*
Buy Huguette Bourgeois' Raw Sweets: amzn.to/3Gfjxu3
Buy Huguette Bourgeois' Alysse: An Acadian Refugee: amzn.to/4cExiyu
Buy Huguette Bourgeois' Le bleu de Mon Ile (French): amzn.to/3GeXQKS
Buy Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment: amzn.to/3EBmIfb
Buy Dostoyevsky' The Brothers Karamazov: amzn.to/3RtbFrj
By using these links, we earn commission from qualifying purchases.
*SHOW LINKS:*
Subscribe: youtube.com/@JeffreyPvanLeeuwen
Support the Show: patreon.com/JeffreyPvanLeeuwen
Listen on Apple Podcast: apple.co/4lLpEXA
Listen on Spotify: spoti.fi/42kcOYy
Follow on X: https://x.com/RealJvanLeeuwen
Follow on Instagram: instagram.com/jeffreypvanleeuwen
Follow on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jeffreypvanleeuwen
YouTube Playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOv56NTjNAeK7cUVamIPioSCsr06-vSGG
*OUTLINE:*
00:00 Introduction
01:45 What is Poetry?
09:10 Stories of Writing Poetry
19:37 Poetry as a Path to Spirituality & Meaning
23:54 Finding Your Voice
35:27 The Dark Side of Agreeableness
43:50 The Importance of Asking Questions
48:56 Authenticity & Identity
56:21 Echoes of Rejection & Love in Childhood
01:03:54 Love, Loss, and Happiness
01:08:32 Youngest Son’s Schizophrenia Diagnosis
01:17:03 Believing in God
01:33:52 The Danger of Blind Faith
01:44:06 Does Poetry Find the Poet, or Vice Versa?
01:48:06 The Endless Possibilities of Words
01:55:22 Can Words Fully Capture The Human Experience?
02:02:34 Fiction, Dragons, and The Human Experience
02:09:52 Closing Thoughts
02:15:17 Outro
*CONTACT LINKS:*
To come on the podcast, share feedback, ask a question, or reach out for any reason, visit: podcast.jeffreyvanleeuwen.com/p/contact
