Acadian Driftwood

One Family and the Great Expulsion

By: Tyler LeBlanc

Narrated by: Pierre Simpson

Winner, Evelyn Richardson Award for Non-Fiction and Democracy 250 Atlantic Book Award for Historical Writing

A Hill Times Top 100 selection

A Canada’s History Bestseller

Piecing together his family history through archival documents, Tyler LeBlanc tells the story of his ancestor Joseph LeBlanc and the LeBlanc family during the Great Expulsion. A unique biographical approach to the history of the Expulsion, Acadian Driftwood is a vivid insight into one family’s experience of this traumatic event.

©2020 Tyler LeBlanc (P)2023 BTC Audiobooks

Critic reviews

“The Acadian story deserves to be told far and wide—let this exquisite book draw you into an astonishing tale of imperial abuse and collective courage.”—Lyse Doucet, BBC Chief International Correspondent

“Tyler LeBlanc takes readers on a quest to uncover his family’s forgotten history, a journey into the horrors of the eighteenth-century deportations that scattered his Acadian ancestors and almost destroyed their culture. Deeply researched and honestly told, Acadian Driftwood is a gritty, gripping account of a dark chapter in Canada’s history and an uplifting tale of discovery—discovery of heritage, of family, and, ultimately, of identity.”—Dean Jobb, author of The Acadians: A People’s Story of Exile and Triumph

“With great care and an eye for well-researched details, Tyler LeBlanc tells a story of trauma by making room for personal and historical insights into the lives of the Acadians who survived the Expulsion. A tapestry of 250-year-old threads, Acadian Driftwood is stronger and more resilient than one would ever expect, let alone woven in such a careful and vibrant manner.”—Simon Thibault, author of Pantry and Palate: Remembering and Rediscovering Acadian Food