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

by Elizabeth Bennett

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.

154 pages, Paperback

Published May 17, 2016

Reviews

[KOMET · Rating 4 out of 5]

"My Life: J.G. Bennett and G.I. Gurdjieff: The Memoirs of Elizabeth Bennett" is an incomplete memoir by the author. It spans from her formative years as the daughter of a house master at Eton College, the health challenges she faced as a little girl and adolescent, the 5 years she spent in service with the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) during the Second World War, to her meeting with J.G. Bennett near the end of the war --- a man 20 years her senior best described as far-seeing in thought, attitude, and action, with whom she would later share her life and bear him 4 children -- and the charismatic mystic and teacher G.I. Gurdjieff.

The memoir is focused more on relating the experiences Elizabeth Bennett had with Gurdjieff in France in the late 1940s (til his death in 1949), as well as with Bennett (whom she referred to as 'Mr. B') through the mid-1950s. There are also numerous color drawings made by Elizabeth Bennett herself during various phases of her life (she passed away in August 1991 from cancer; she was 72) and what loose ends there are in the memoir are filled in by her 2 sons. On the whole, this is a very readable book, written in a very honest, straightforward manner.

[Fred Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This posthumously edited memoir covers episodes in the life of Elizabeth Bennett. The chapters on growing up at Eton and serving in the WAAF provide a lively picture of that era. The chapters on her time with Gurdjieff are essential for anyone interested in him; these are best read in conjunction with her diaries in Idiots in Paris.