ABOUT THE AUTHOR

        Andrew St-James—a pseudonym—is an associate professor who does medical/nutrition research at a US university.  Andrew’s work has drawn him into understanding the deep meaning of human suffering because it is so prevalent in the medical field. He has found, in researching the great epidemics of our modern age—obesity, type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and depression—that there is a deep societal hunger for truth, hope, and meaning.

Andrew was drawn to the story of Germaine Cousin—the true 16th century Cinderella—as it brings to light one of the great paradoxical questions of our time: Why does God allow suffering? It is a question of particular importance for Andrew as he studied the obesity epidemic. What he found was that obesity was really only a symptom of a much greater societal malaise eroding the American culture. Beneath the surface were many notable epidemics—sexually transmitted infections, depression, anxiety, drug abuse and child abuse—peppering the US landscape, and all seemingly surfacing from the breakdown of the family, which is the core of any society. How is it that so many families are breaking down? Andrew believes that we hunger for heroic models, in our lives and in society, who strive for virtue and for truth. Their heroism gives the rest of us direction and hope. The hopelessness we experience insidiously works itself into our very fabric because we lead uninspired lives.

        In writing this story, Andrew wanted to bring hope; he wanted to inspire with truth not fantasy. Andrew consulted Jean-Pierre Jouffreau, the archivist of the diocese of Toulouse in France, for the official historical facts surrounding the life of Germaine Cousin. Readers can therefore be assured of the historicity of Germaine, the true Cinderella.  What he uncovered shocked and amazed him. He admits: “I was so excited by what I found, that I wanted to tell the world.”     

       This is such a good time to launch a book like this because there is a rise in immorality and a strong sense of hopelessness currently threatening American society as evidenced by the many depressive disorders that are appearing more frequently earlier in life. What is going on asks Andrew St-James? Our children are falling prey to depression, anxiety and other psychological problems that are severe enough to warrant treatment. Children under 10 years of age, tormented, anxious and worried, are overwhelmed by the superficiality of a consumerism mentality that is fracturing their soul. It is a true indictment of the societal values we uphold. Who is protecting our children from the onslaught of demands that saturate their schedules, and from the worries and fears that consume them? We are dealing with something nefarious that’s sweeping through our culture, and calling us to a radical shift. After all is said, our duty is to protect the children and ourselves from the hopelessness of our age. Germaine Cousin is a heroic model that is much needed by both adult and adolescent in our troubled times.