"'I don't understand it. What can there be in a simple little story like that, to make people praise it so?' she said, quite bewildered.
"'There is truth in it, Jo, that's the secret; humor and pathos make it alive, and you have found your style at last. You wrote with no thought of fame or money, and put your heart into it, my daughter...'
"So, taught by love and sorrow, Jo wrote her little stories, and sent them away to make friends for themselves and her, finding it a very charitable world to such humble wanderers; for they were kindly welcomed..."
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
No, I have not seen the new film adaptation of this now-classic story. Rather, after seeing the focus on actor/actress worship among its fans, I recently needed a dose of the real thing to get the "taste out of my mouth."
The dramatic reading (version 3) free audiobook on Librivox.org was once again a breath of fresh air!
Elsa and I find ourselves coming back and back to the gentle stories of Louisa May Alcott in times of adrenal fatigue. What makes them so special? I think the above conversation between Jo and her father says it well.
"There is truth in it..."
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