The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
"The Little Prince" was published in 1943. It was written by Antoine de Saint Exupery. It is a children's book. It is amazing that in these 60 years little has happened to alter the disease of alcoholism. This is a quote from "The Little Prince" as translated from the original French version by Richard Howard:
[Disclaimer: this is the translation by Richard Howard. No offense is intended by the use of certain words]
"What are you doing here," he asked the drunkard...
"Drinking," replied the drunkard, with a gloomy expression.
"Why are you drinking?" the little prince asked.
"To forget," replied the drunkard.
"To forget what?" inquired the little prince, who was already feeling sorry for him.
"To forget that I'm ashamed," confessed the drunkard, hanging his head.
"What are you ashamed of?" inquired the little prince, who wanted to help.
Hi Ditto! Yes, doesn't this just capture the circularity of the disease--otherwise known as the "merry-go-round of denial"!
I love that book, The Little Prince. There's so much wisdom in it--as well as innocence and delight.
His other books are terrific too--about flying, all of them. The poetry of flying, talk about! St Exupery was himself a pilot, and his disappearance is intriguing. He simply vanished from the radar on a mission during world war 2, and the aircraft or his remains were never found. Hmmm....
I can thank a wonderful French teacher I had in high school for introducing me to his books.
thank you Ditto and Seachange. I didn't know until now The Little Prince is a children's book - probably because I encountered it as a grown-up. Fragments of it come to me from time to time as a pattern of how things really are. It is one of my anchoring stories (others are Jane Eyre by Charlott Bronte, "The Parent Trap" (movie by David Swift), and "Notorious" (movie by Alfred Hitchcock)). --Jill
