text: my story ( julie couillard book ) my story ( or mon histoire ) is a tell - all memoir by canadian julie couillard . it was first written in french , then during summer 2008 , translated into english . both versions were published across canada in october 2008 . couillard first appeared in the national media when she dated the minister of foreign affairs , maxime bernier . the bernier - couillard affair erupted in may 2008 over confidential , nato - related documents left at couillard 's house . media coverage , and bernier 's reaction , left couillard feeling victimized . to help dispel rumours regarding her life and her role with bernier , couillard signed a book deal . in her book , she recounts her early years , describes her relationship with bernier , and reveals his confidential opinions . intended to be released on october 14 , 2008 , the book 's release date was moved forward when that same day was selected for the canadian federal election . bernier dismissed the embarrassing allegations against him in her book as ridiculous . though my story was released eight days prior to the election , bernier nonetheless was re - elected in his district of beauce . the english version peaked at # 6 on la presse 's bestseller list while the french version reached # 5 . critics found couillard 's story self - righteous and sometimes conveniently vague , but noted that it provided a unique view into the government 's inner circle . background julie couillard began dating conservative party of canada member of parliament , maxime bernier , in april 2007 . the media started covering her in august , when she wore a revealing dress to bernier 's swearing - in ceremony for his new position as minister of foreign affairs . the couple had first met at a restaurant - dinner with business associates . couillard and bernier dated until december 2007 but continued seeing each other until april 2008 . their relationship became the subject of a political scandal which brought about intense media attention . as the scandal unfolded , couillard decided to write an autobiography , telling her side of the story . she formally signed a contract in july with publishers , mcclelland & stewart ; and with the help of journalist , serge demers , a ghostwriter , she wrote my story in french within a few months . the publisher translated the text into english . bernier - couillard affair bernier was elected as a conservative star candidate in quebec and became the minister of industry before being reassigned to the ministry of foreign affairs in august 2007 . though his relationship with couillard had ended in december , they continued with occasional trysts . in april 2008 , as bernier hurriedly departed couillard 's home , he left behind confidential , nato - related briefing notes ; they were from the 2008 bucharest summit . he asked couillard to destroy them . couillard , on the other hand , put the notes aside and forgot about them until may when she returned the notes to a foreign affairs office . significant discussion about the affair was then voiced in both the canadian house of commons and the standing committee on public safety and national security . after discussions with prime minister of canada , stephen harper , bernier resigned as minister of foreign affairs , a day before the airing of couillard 's interview with tva . political commentators called the affair a threat to national security due to bernier 's carelessness and to couillard 's background with motorcycle biker gangs . according to couillard , bernier 's response to the subsequent media coverage made her feel betrayed and abandoned . content the book begins as an autobiography . couillard was born in the late - 1960s in the montreal district of ville - ; then she moved to the suburb of lorraine when she was 4 . her parents often fought as her mother believed that her husband was unfaithful ; the family incurred financial problems when couillard 's father changed careers . at age 12 , couillard was diagnosed with epilepsy . at age 17 , she bought several properties with a boyfriend . they lived together briefly before breaking up and selling the properties . couillard then became a friend , then lover , of gilles giguère , a money lender who was associated with the controversial , motorcycle club , hells angels . in 1996 , after the police raided giguère 's apartment and ( according to couillard ) threatened him , giguère became sullen and withdrawn : the police had charged him with conspiracy to commit murder . but two months later , they let the charge drop . giguère was soon murdered . in 1997 , couillard met stéphane sirois , a reputed enforcer and drug dealer , member of the rockers a hells angels affiliate club . they married . however , financial problems interfered with their relationship ; furthermore , couillard had cheated on sirois with a man named bruno . during their divorce , sirois became an informant for the police and entered a witness protection program . couillard then became pregnant with bruno 's child , and had an abortion ; they subsequently separated . following further personal , financial problems , couillard declared bankruptcy in 2002 . she then began an affair with a married man who abandoned her while they visited venice , italy . when she returned to canada , couillard launched a security firm , integrated global solutions , along with an auto - leasing business . meanwhile , she began to date bernard coté , an aide to federal minister of public works , michael fortier . couillard then introduced coté to philippe morin of the kevlar group , a real estate company which signed a deal with the federal government to acquire land from kevlar . when the deal became public coté 's involvement was considered a conflict of interest and fortier , responsible for the actions of his staff , was forced to resign , despite morin denying any connection between kevlar and couillard . then , in april 2007 , while attending a conservative party of canada fundraising affair , couillard was asked to consider being a candidate for the party . later , she attended a dinner where she met maxime bernier ; they began dating . bernier registered couillard as his designated traveling companion with the ministry of foreign affairs in order for couillard to accompany bernier on government business . in her book , couillard characterizes bernier as intellectually lazy , preoccupied with his appearance , and as concerned that he appears gay . she writes further that bernier privately criticized prime minister stephen harper 's eating habits and his physique . she adds that bernier spoke with party supporters about replacing harper as the party leader , and says that bernier opposed the invasion of iraq contrary to his party 's stance . further revelations regarding bernier include that he whispered negative comments to couillard about members of his electoral district ; and that he did not own a laptop , yet frequently used her house and home computer as a second office . couillard goes on to describe the nato document incident and the ensuing media coverage from her perspective . publication and reception the original publication date for the book was october 14 , 2008 . after the canadian federal election was called and set for that day the book 's release was re - scheduled to october 6 , eight days before the election in which bernier was seeking re - election . the english version was published as a hard cover by mcclelland & stewart while the french version was released by montreal publishers , les editions de l 'homme , as a trade paperback . according to la presse , 17 , 000 copies were printed ; 5 , 000 sold in the first two weeks . in the montreal market , the book was listed on the bestseller list at # 6 for two weeks while the french version spent one week at # 5 . in response to the book , bernier dismissed the contents as " soap - opera politics and completely ridiculous " and denied ever criticizing harper or constituents . the ottawa citizen reviewer , chris cobb , and the globe and mail 's , christie blatchford called couillard 's story self - righteous , contradictory , and conveniently vague . cobb commented that " viewed through a political lens , it 's an entertaining page - turner " as it provides " a rare glimpse inside the closed , controlled society that is the harper government . " additionally , writer , william johnson , said the book story unfolds like pulp fiction or a soap opera and compares couillard to the abused heroine in justine who does not learn from her calamities . bernier went on to win his election in beauce with 62 % of the vote . harper won re - election as prime - minister ; he did not appoint bernier to a cabinet position . stemming from couillard 's actions during the entire affair , the royal canadian mounted police ( rcmp ) launched investigations on how she obtained the secret documents ; on whether couillard 's mother was offered a patronage appointment by a conservative party official to the immigration and refugee board of canada ; and on whether there was influence peddling during the land sale between the kevlar group and public works .