[2] The daughter of Arthur Asselin and Gabrielle Payette,[3] she was born Michèle Asselin[2] in Montreal and went on to earn a BA and a Bachelor of Education from the Université de Montréal.
She taught for several years and then worked as a journalist for Points de vue, Le Nouveau Journal and Radio-Canada.
[3] From 1972 to 1972, she was literary adviser for the publishing house Éditions du Jour.
She wrote a number of short stories for the magazines Liberté, La Barre du Jour and The Massachusetts Review.
[2] Her novel Veuillez agréer..., published in 1975, received the Prix de la Presse in 1975; it was translated into English as Coming of age in 1988.