A Matter of Compulsion: The Story of Flory and Armand

A Matter of Compulsion is the true, poignant and often humorous story of a family's struggle to survive in Northern Alberta during the Depression. Armand, a French-Canadian dreamer and Flory, an English pragmatist, had little in common. Even so, their love endured through the birth of eight children, life in a dance hall, and Armand's growing dependence on alcohol.

Armand was known throughout Cold Lake, Alberta for his remarkable ideas and his gregarious personality. His schemes ran the gamut from opening a speakeasy in his front parlour, to building a dance hall connected to his house. In between, he found time to invent a clothespin, hair tonic, and what may have been the first snowmobile. He regaled his friends at the Beer Parlour with stories of his latest scheme while Flory was forced to develop her own schemes to support her ever-growing family.