It was March 2019. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada forward Alec Reid died of an epileptic seizure. The story had shaken Quebec hockey as a whole. More than three years later, the young man is reborn in a way through the book that pays homage to him: Right in the heart of Alec Reid.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
The book, launched on August 13, is the work of author Gwen Bobée. Herself the mother of a former hockey player, Mme Bobée was first told about Alec Reid’s story by her sister-in-law, who also happens to be Alec’s cousin.
Like everyone else, the author was capsized. But the idea of telling Alec in a book did not come until five months later, when she learned that the father of the young deceased, Luc Reid, had also just died suddenly.
“There, I was upset,” recalls Mme Bobée, who especially thought of the pain that “Alec’s mother”, Josée Vallée, must have been experiencing.
JUZOLIE STUDIO PHOTO, PROVIDED BY GWEN BOBÉE
Gwen Bobée, author of the book Right in the heart of Alec Reid
Mother to mother, I understood so much how she could feel. The terrible loss… When I was asked who I was writing the book for, I had to admit that it was for Josée. I didn’t know her before.
Gwen Bobée, author of the book Right in the heart of Alec Reid
With permission from M.me Vallée, the author embarked on the project in 2020. She met around thirty stakeholders: family members, friends, girlfriend, Alec’s teammates and coaches as well as epilepsy specialists.
Divided into three main parts, the book first recounts the day of the death of the young man, before recounting his life in a lighter tone. For the last third of the book, the author called on renowned neurologists and cardiologists to explain exactly how Alec Reid’s heart could suddenly stop beating on March 3, 2019, when that he was sleeping at a friend’s house with his girlfriend.
Too many people said to me: “What do you mean, he died?” It has become like vital, in my quest for the book […] I really pushed for an explanation because I felt it was important to people and, slowly, it was becoming important to me.
Gwen Bobée, author of the book Right in the heart of Alec Reid
“I said to myself: ‘As I’m writing the book for Josée, I have to give her these answers.’ Her, it’s going around in her head: “Why, why, why?” »
Mme Bobée was also inspired by the writings of Alec’s mother for his book; these very personal “heart jets” allowed Mme Vallée to “liberate herself, try to put into perspective” the mourning of her son and her husband, explains the author.
“Josée always said to me, ‘Gwen, I’m going to read every chapter, but when I’m ready. […] When I don’t read it, it’s not because I don’t want to, it’s because I can’t”. But she did it masterfully. She was an extraordinary collaborator. »
“I can never thank her enough,” she adds.
“A guy who went to war”
Bruce Richardson, head coach of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, was the first to receive a call from Alec Reid’s father on the fatal morning. Still to this day, the memory is painful.
“You know when someone sings a song and you can’t get it out of your head? It was like that for months; I had the words of his father in mind, who called me crying and shouting, he tells The Press. He said to me: “Reider is dead, Reider is dead! He respected you so much, he wanted to go to war for you, he would have done anything for you.” »
Richardson coached Reid not only with the Armada, but also with the Chateauguay Grenadiers of the Quebec U18 AAA Hockey League a few years prior. In other words, the player and the coach knew each other well and shared a good relationship.
When you coach, these are not things that are supposed to happen […] You arrive in a situation like this… I had a link with the player, but I have 22 other players with whom I must address the situation. But I too am in pain. I too am hurt, it hurts me. But I have to talk to these guys, guide them, mentor them. To get through.
Bruce Richardson, former coach of Alec Reid
When it came time for Gwen Bobée to find someone to write the final word for the book, she turned to Bruce Richardson, who accepted without hesitation. Except that the exercise was not easy for the coach, who struggled to find the words. He had less than 24 hours left before the deadline when he finally settled down in front of his computer.
“I started and I couldn’t stop,” he says. I could have done 100 pages. I started by saying how I learned that Alec had epilepsy. It was during a warm-up, in the M18. We were in the playoffs. I didn’t want him to play and he told me: “I’m sure I’m playing, that’s not going to stop me.” »
Even today, “it’s hard” for the coach to talk about Alec Reid. At the end of the line, we feel emotional, but in no way bothered. “I could talk to you [d’Alec] for hours,” he says. Even if it hurts. And even if he has not yet found the strength to read the book.
“I read a page. I can’t, he drops. When I started the first page, I closed it. My wife did the same. It’s on my desk. He’s there. I’m going to read it at some point, but right now… I’m telling you about it and I still have chills. »
A word from Amélie Lemieux
PHOTO ANTOINE MEUNIER, PROVIDED BY GWEN BOBÉE
We find in the book Right in the heart of Alec Reid a special word signed by Amélie Lemieux, the mother of Norah and Romy Carpentier, kidnapped and then killed by their father in 2020. “I said to myself: “Who better than a mother who has tragically lost her children to bring a word of comfort to a mother who has tragically lost a child.” It was really to soothe Josée’s heart, to make her feel understood,” says the author, Gwen Bobée.