My Life: J.G. Bennett and G.I. Gurdjieff: A Memoir

The author stresses at the outset that this book is a memoir, not to be confused with an autobiography. The published book is a compilation of a set of manuscripts, and the transcription of a voice recording made in the last year of her life. The text is divided into chapters, each of which gives a vignette of a particular series of events in the author's life - beginning with her sheltered childhood at Eton College; her experiences as a volunteer in the ranks, and later as an officer in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force during the Second World War; her first introduction to the ideas now known as the Fourth Way; the ten months she spent in G.I Gurdjieff's inner circle in Paris in 1949; her life and travels with her husband during the 1950s. This book gives a remarkably candid account of life impressions, and a fascinating insight into the personal lives of two great 20th century teachers. Illustrated with a selection of twenty-four of the author's own sketches in pen and watercolour.