VIU Grad Launches First Book and Creative Writing Scholarship

At 81, Vancouver Island University (VIU) Liberal Studies graduate Gisèle Merlet is proudly launching her first book As I Rise, a collection of linked short stories set in Montreal, the south of France, Guatemala, and Vancouver Island.

The launch takes place at VIU’s Nanaimo campus on November 3, from 1- 2:30 pm in the auditorium of Building 355.

“I found my niche,” says Merlet, who’s the epitome of a student who embraces life-long learning. She earned a Liberal Studies degree in 2005, and is completing classes that could earn her a second degree in Creative Writing next year.

The collection is in three parts and follows heroine Carmen and her husband Alain through their respective childhoods, union in Quebec, and family and business on the West Coast.

Proceeds from the sale of As I Rise ($10) will finance a new scholarship - the Gisele Merlet Award for a Creative Writing student who shows great promise in fiction.

“It was never my intention to write a book,” says Merlet, “but one of my favourite professors, Joy Gugeler, made me believe I could do it.”

“Gisèle has been infectiously engaged, and so willing to consider gentle editorial suggestions. I know that she has the respect and admiration of all of her peers, many amazed at how she has boldly pushed herself to add book author to her growing list of impressive achievements,” says Gugeler.

Like her character, Merlet has demonstrated incredible resilience and strength of spirit. “Attitude is very important, and a good sense of humour helps,” says Merlet. “The university has been absolutely wonderful. I want to be here. Going to school keeps your mind active and keeps you young,” she says. “It also makes you more tolerant. I had classmates with blue hair who were covered in tattoos. For me, this was a big life lesson.”

As a young girl, Merlet longed “to do incredible things” so after meeting her second husband Jean, a French chef, they ran the popular Ma Maison restaurant in Parksville for 16 years as well as an import business that took her to Mexico, Guatemala, Boliva, Belize and Ecuador. After retiring, she walked the 1800 km Camino trail in Spain and France with her daughter, one of her four children.

As part of her Liberal Studies degree, Merlet completed a field school in England and wrote her first essay at age 65.  “It was about Frankenstein and I got an A-plus,” she says. “I told my professor he must not have read it.”

Merlet hopes her story will inspire others her age. “There are so many opportunities at VIU,” she says, from Elder College classes for 55+ to the I Love to Learn $99 seniors’ classes. She also encourages mature learners to get to know faculty and use the full range of resources on campus.

“The Writing Centre has been my lifeline,” she says. “It’s a place where students can go when they’re feeling stuck. The staff provides incredible support.”

Professor Gugeler, who edited Merlet’s book during a Directed Study, says, “It’s been privilege to work with Gisèle; she's so inspiring. I'm humbled by her boundless esprit and energy and know my colleagues join me in celebrating a woman who is the poster child for life-long learning, joie de vivre, and the daring creative acts all literary artists must brave to break new ground. She is my hero.”

CREW alumni Trevor Cooper did the cover illustration and those in the interior, and Chloe de Beeld, Portal ‘s 2016 designer, did the cover and interior design – two other exemplary students, who, like Merlet, are on the rise.

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