Cassie Deveaux Cohoon was born in the Acadian village of Chéticamp on Cape Breton Island. Her Acadian heritage goes back to the early days of Grand Pré on her father’s side and Beaubassin (now Amherst) on her mother’s. She has lived in New York City and Paris, France, and now makes her home in Montréal, Québec. She has worked as a freelance journalist and written family histories. Her first novel, Severine, told the story of a fictitious heroine of Acadia. In Jeanne Dugas of Acadia, the author tells the story of her own ancestor. One of Jeanne Dugas’ granddaughters married a son of Augustin Deveau, another founder of Chéticamp and the author’s paternal ancestor.