Roch Carrier takes great care of his legends. In Our Life With the Rocket, Carrier shares the stories of two French-Canadian legends: a hockey icon and a world-renowned author. Using great care, rich detail and insight, Carrier tells his story while recounting the life of Maurice Richard, the legendary Montreal Canadiens scorer, whom he grew up admiring.
Carrier begins by tracing the origins of hockey back to games played in ancient times and follows its evolution up until the English began to play the game in early Canada. Over time, hockey became an ingrained part of life in Quebec—”it became our game,” says Carrier.
The book’s narrative soon moves to pre-Depression-era Quebec, birthplace of Maurice Richard. Carrier tells the reader about a young Richard who perfected his skill playing against bigger, older boys. Richard rose through the ranks of amateur hockey in Quebec and in 1941 broke into the NHL as World War Two raged in Europe.
“Hockey in those days was not only entertainment, it was as real as life and it was a metaphor for life. But for a player like Maurice Richard, it was his life,” relates Carrier, adding, “You cannot become great if you don’t have an obsession. An obsession is a feeling that what you did could be done better.”
Throughout his life, Richard had a substantial influence on Carrier. From Richard, he learned to overcome any obstacle to his goals.
“When I decided to become a writer, nothing (stood) in the way that was reasonable. It was my goal. I achieved my goal. I think I owe that to the Rocket.” Still, when he met Richard, he was impressed by his modesty. “Richard was not a show-off,” Carrier says, “he was a simple man.”
Carrier does not have a definition of greatness. “Greatness can be many things. Greatness could be a father and mother who has the responsibility of a family and takes care of the family. That is greatness. I’m much more impressed by that than any athletic performance.” He adds, “Greatness does not need a definition. When you see greatness, you know.”
He does, however, view Richard as a great hockey player. “He was a champion, was a scorer. But what made him special was the kind of connection he had with people who were watching the game and with those who were not watching the game.” Carrier says that because of his intense play and his ability to inspire thousands, one knew he was great.
Richard was Quebec’s first superstar. “He was probably the first one, after a long series of strong men who were adored and had respectability because they were the strongest men in the world,” Carrier says. “There were no great writers, there were no great actors.” Richard’s legend lives on today. “Canadian children read ‘The Hockey Sweater’ story [an old short story of Carrier’s about a young Richard fan who accidentally receives a Maple Leafs jersey], and even if they don’t know who he was, they have some connection.”
Carrier was originally opposed to writing a biography about Maurice Richard. “I started to say no. Three hundred pages later, the book was written,” he laughs. “That’s the magic of writing. I discovered that the subject was interesting.”
According to Carrier, sharing words with others is what writing is about. “Writing is about sharing your experiences…. The book is a dialogue, (and) the book is not really written unless it’s been read,” he says. “Writing is about talking about personal things… A writer always talks about themselves and their own experiences, because they talk about what they know.”
Carrier does not go into great detail about the future. He believes one day, the story of Lucille Richard, Maurice’s wife, should be written. He refrains from talking about any projects he is working on. “Even if I had a project, I would not tell…. I’m superstitious, so I never talk about future projects.”
When one great speaks of another, you can feel the presence of both in the room.
