This book shares the stories of 50 Tri-Cities women

When Geneviève Kyle-Lefebvre first moved to Metro Vancouver, she didn’t speak English.

Originally from Granby, Quebec, she was a native French speaker. When she decided to move out west, she didn’t realize how challenging it would be to learn a new language and adapt to living in Vancouver and eventually the Tri-Cities.

“It doesn’t matter how social you are, you’ll suffer through social isolation,” she said.

Eventually, through her work as a dental hygienist and over the course of years, Kyle-Lefebvre became fluent in English. Today, she runs a bilingual show for Tri-Cities Community TV, covering events and a variety of topics in French and English.

“I never thought that would be one of my superpowers . . . it came from probably 10 years of struggle,” she said.

Kyle-Lefebvre knew she wasn’t the only one who had a story of perseverance, and she wanted to find and share those stories with others. That’s how she came up with the idea to curate Faces Tri-Cities, a book highlighting 50 local women.

“We can get 50 women together, 50 women empowering other women and other people in the Tri Cities,” she said.

Kyle-Lefebvre already hosts a parenting podcast and her bilingual section for Tri Cities Community TV, but with a limited focus, she felt a lot of stories were left on the table. She wanted to create an opportunity where women could write about whatever they were inspired by.

“And a lot of those women, they’re not going to turn around and write a book. For them, this is the best opportunity to just write something . . . and ride the wave of 50 women talking about it, and 50 women sharing about it locally, she said.

Kyle-Lefebvre approached Cathy Cena, who she works alongside at Tri-Cities Community TV, and asked her to co-curate the book. She agreed. 

“We sat down, and we learned how to do books,” Kyle-Lefebvre laughs.

They used their network to find people to participate and pen their own stories, and had all 50 slots filled within three weeks.

They bought a program to make a book, learned how to use it, and enlisted help from Kyle-Lefebvre’s husband on visuals, with the goal to represent the energy and diversity of the women.

“The 50 women that stepped in to write—it’s from, like, all works, all backgrounds, nationalities, religions, everybody’s very different,” said Kyle-Lefebvre.

She and Cena launched the book this past year to celebrate International Women’s Day. Kyle-Lefebvre says it has been a resounding success, hitting number one on Amazon in the section of Western biographies.

“I think if you read something that resonates with you, and you see what they’ve done and what they overcame, you will be inspired.”

She and Cena are currently curating their next book, Faces Greater Vancouver, where they accept stories of women outside of the Tri-Cities.

Faces Tri-Cities is available for purchase at Western Sky Book in Port Coquitlam and at Indigo.