Welcome to Season 4, Episode 26 of What Matters Most! This episode focuses on a Gerry Turcotte’s new novel The Space Between (EnRoute Books and Media, 2026). This novel is a coming-of-age story of a catholic boy in Quebec, caught between the French and English worlds, or perhaps a part of each of those worlds, striving to make sense of his place within the world at home, at school, and in love. I hope you enjoy our discussion of this winsome and winning novel. I compared it to the movie A Christmas Story, not because there is a Christmas scene in The Space Between, a manger scene to be precise, but because it has the same sense of wonder at growing up and it has a cinematic quality with all of the vignettes that speak to the confusion and complexity of growing up. For Canadians it also has that French-English dynamic that is part of our national story, no matter where you grew up in Canada, but certainly most profoundly in Quebec. But the novel also moves us to awakenings of maturity, not simply in terms of falling in love and navigating middle and high school, but in the harsh realities of life: sexual abuse, mental health struggles, the imperfections of those who serve the Church, and even Auschwitz. But it’s also the story of loving parents, a priest who is definitely trying, and a nun, Sister Anne, who is a guiding light. And a boy trying to navigate it all. Like we all try to do, and all ultimately do for better or worse.

Gerry Turcotte became President of Corpus Christi College and Principal of St. Mark’s College in 2022. Before this he was President and Vice-Chancellor of St. Mary’s University, Calgary, for 11 years. He is a graduate of McGill University (BA), the University of Ottawa (MA), and the University of Sydney, in Australia (PhD). In 2022 he was granted his Blackfoot name — “Mountain Thunder” — by Blackfoot Elder Casey Eagle Speaker, in recognition of his work supporting Reconciliation.

A few thanks are in order. First of all, I am grateful to Martin Strong, who guides me in the podcasting world and joins me for the Pop Culture Matters regularly. Second, the episodes are edited, engineered, and produced by Kevin Eng who is the first listener to all the episodes and my consultant for each episode, especially with the snippets that begin each episode. Thank you, Kevin, for all of your expertise and support and especially for saving this episode when I could not convert it to a listenable or viewable file. Finally, to the Fang Fang Chandra, the CCE assistant, who helps me bring this podcast to you, but also makes the CCE run so much more smoothly.

I also want to thank our donors to the Centre, whose generosity enables this work to take place at all: Peter Bull, Angus Reid, and Andy Szocs. We are thankful to their commitment to the life of the academic world and of the work of the Church in the world by funding the work of the CCE. I am also thankful to the Cullen family, Mark and Barbara, for their support of the ongoing work of the CCE through financial donations that allow us to bring speakers to the local and international arenas.

If you would like to support the work of the CCE, become a new member of CCE Patreon, First Engagers, supporting the podcast and the Centre for only $5.00 CAD a month. For that 5 dollars, you will get a live monthly podcast discussion via Zoom, free exclusive member merchandise, be able to suggest guests and topics for What Matters Most. And the first ten Patrons, apart from the other merch they will receive, such as water bottles, tote bags, etc., will get awesome, I mean it, awesome, CCE hoodies. Orange hoodies with the CCE logo in green, orange and blue. Do it, become first engagers! If you are simply interested in donating to the CCE, please check out the CCE website where you can find the donate button on the top right corner. We are a non-profit organization, and all donations over $20.00 are tax deductible. But think about the Patreon too!

Since St. Mark’s Centre for Christian Engagement seeks to enable the creation of a culture of encounter and dialogue, let me invite you into that discussion. Follow us at our Instagram page, @stmarkscce and drop us a line as to what you want to see or hear. We’ll post there with a question as to what you are most interested in. Or email us with your suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].

John W. Martens