The Wisdom of “Les Miserables”

It happened so fast. On the first day of our Mediterranean vacation.  I had just paid four euros for a Margherita pizza-to-die-for in a Naples ristorante. A place recommended by Vito, our all-knowing guide through the unearthed ruins of Pompei. I secured my wallet inside my zippered and clasped shoulder bag (a remnant of last summer’s Alaskan cruise). Feeling positive about our good fortune, Esther and I set off on the two-block journey back to the port and our Carnival Freedom home away from home for the next two weeks.

Prior to this first venture off the ship, the staff had warned us that we had entered a city where “a red traffic light is only a suggestion.” Huddled on a street corner with a mass of death-defying pedestrians, we let the natives run interference until we reached safety. It wasn’t until we crossed the gangway to the ship’s security station that I noticed my shoulder bag unlatched, the wallet compartment empty.

The reality so shocked me, I refused to believe what my mind and senses reported. This couldn’t be happening; not to me. I had taken precautions. To think that someone had targeted me as a rube and overcome my prudent defenses caused dismay and shame, along with a sense of having been victimized. 

Reason forced its way through this emotional turmoil and I assessed the damage. Five hundred dollars in euros and U.S. greenbacks. An assortment of credit cards. My Social Security and medical cards. Driver’s license. Two missing photos of my grandson cost me the pride of showing him off to shipmates. Not my passport, thank God. Esther held that precious document which became my only photo ID. It took the rest of the afternoon, with the patient help of the ship’s Pursers, to block credit cards and order new ones, forestalling further financial damage. A close call, because $3,000 in purchases had been attempted—and rejected—within the hour it took us to return to the ship.

Back in our stateroom, we faced two options. Declare our vacation ruined from the start and go through the motions for the rest of the cruise. Or, accept what had happened and move on. In the end, we decided, “It’s only money we’ve lost.” Plus, we still had half of what we had brought and could charge whatever we needed on other cards. More important, we had each other and no one had gotten hurt.

Yet, something remained unfinished. Our decision to go on had outrun my personal emotional damage. Inner peace stalled at the bitterness I held against the person who had violated my life. Jean Valjean, my literary hero and moral model, nudged me toward recovery. Echoing Jesus’ call to “love our enemies,” he urged his daughter Cosette, “Those Thenardiers [the innkeepers] were wicked. We must forgive them,” despite the physical and emotional abuse she had suffered. A supporting voice came from Stanford professor Fred Luskin, author of Forgive For Good, who outlines the physical and mental health benefits of forgiving and getting on with one’s life.

To catch up with my “move on” decision, I had to forgive the anonymous thief and pray for his or her welfare and change of heart. So I did—or tried to, given my fragile resolve. The rest of our trip was truly amazing and thoroughly enjoyable. But the Naples experience remained a pebble in my shoe,  a discomfort that has lingered into the post-vacation business of identity protection.

Lessons learned from this incident are many. The most lasting is the wisdom of a forgiving heart. Thank you, Jesus; thank you, Jean Valjean; and thank you, Fred Luskin.

I am always looking for signs of wisdom in our cockeyed world. Flip the coin and I’m also alert to wisdom gaps around me. On July 4th (232nd birthday of our beloved country), I turned the TV on to watch my Oakland Athletics play the Chicago White Sox. Nothing more American than baseball and barbecue on this holiday. The Sox were outfitted in desert camouflage jerseys! Did they think they were playing on a sandlot in Baghdad? If they wanted to hide in a ballpark, they should have worn grass-green tops with red Coke(R) cans sewn on them. That struck me as a desecration of the game and the sport. How far must we go to show support for our troops? Next year will the umpires come out armed with plastic M16s. Fortunately, hiding inside their camouflage jerseys did not help the Sox, who got shelled with 7 runs and 17 hits by the insurgent A’s.  

When my literary hero, Jean Valjean, had the opportunity to kill his nemesis, Inspector Javert, he chose nonviolence and released him. Would one more death have saved the people of France from oppression? That question challenges me. But I must answer, “No.”

So, why must we associate this holiday entirely with honoring the military? Our thinking in America today is this: if we can only kill enough of the people who hate us in the Middle East and wherever they are in the world, we’ll run out of the need to kill and finally arrive at . . . peace. Wisdom or folly? 

On this 4th of July weekend, let’s honor freedom-loving, peace-loving Americans of all ages, races, creeds and walks of life, including our brothers and sisters in military service. Each of us plays a key role in keeping America safe and free.

This blog site is devoted to wisdom—what it is, how to arrive at it, and honoring those who possess and exemplify it. The “patron saint” of this site is Jean Valjean, protagonist of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables and quintessential wise man of modern literature.

Today, my thoughts turn to a wise man who blessed my life, just as the magi blessed a Bethlehem child with gifts. On May 8, 2008—has it been only a week?—my friend, brother in Christ, and mentor Bill Joyce’s frail, bent body gave out. Or better, it opened up to release this treasured spirit to soar to God–and to Joyce, the wife who owned his heart and who lingered beyond the grave to keep him company until he found his way home to her.

Bill stored within his near-85 years a potent mix of Jesuit faith and knowledge, the tenderness of one who has known love in flesh and spirit, and a healthy common sense born of having learned well from his life experience. At the same time, wise Bill terrified those of us who loved and cared about him with his parallel foolishness. Case in point, a solo roundtrip to the symphony in San Francisco by car, public transportation, and on foot—less than two weeks before he died. But Bill lived life “his way,” as the song goes. Who of us looking back would say he should have lived our way, instead? His was the way of wisdom, tainted as it was with stubborn indiscretion.

I might consider myself too old to need a big brother, but in Bill I found the older, wiser brother I never had (being the only boy with two sisters). He thought everything I did was great. Don’t we all need someone like that in our life? Even better that it’s someone not related and thereby obligated to be supportive. Whether I was teaching, writing, or telling stupid jokes, he was my biggest fan. He made me want to be better.

This morning I was at my desk preparing the first class of our new RCIA Inquiry Series. Next week a new group of adults will sit in front of us saying, “Okay, show me what you’ve got. Tell me why I should I put my faith in Jesus Christ. Why should I trust the Catholic Church to be my moral compass and spiritual home?” As I pondered my response, tears rolled down my cheeks. “Hm, what’s this about?” I wondered. Then it hit me. Bill won’t be at his post in the back of the room next Thursday night. At least, not in the same way. Our visiting wise man has returned home to his native country.

(c) 2008 by Alfred J. Garrotto

Having made the decision to self-publish The Wisdom of Les Miserables: Lessons From the Heart of Jean Valjean, I had to choose a publisher. After being courted by Amazon.com’s BookSurge, I decided to use Lulu Press, Inc. for the following reasons:
1.     Having owned my own (small) publishing for 12 years, I love the hands-on part of the publishing process: formatting a manuscript to trade paperback size, selecting fonts and layout, and above all having creative control over the cover art, design and back cover text. 
2.     Lulu.com’s electronic publishing process, though not always intuitive, is fun to works with. Whenever I got stuck there was always no-wait live chat available, staffed by knowledgeable techs.
3.     The total Cost. BookSurge had offered to publish my book for around $1,800. Publishing through Lulu cost $100, and only because I wanted a bar code, ISBN and distribution through Amazon.com (and other online sellers)–the same “benefits” offered by BookSurge. In my conversations with BookSurge, I kept asking, “What will you do for me for over a thousand dollars that Lulu won’t do for a hundred dollars?” Silence.
4.     Manuscript to publication was literally a same-day process, after which I was able to order a single preview copy at the author’s cost and have it delivered within 48 hours, if I wished. I did this once, then a second time. With each revision I declared the book published in its final form. But by the time the next version arrived, I had made additional tweaks and edits. On the third preview round, I changed the body text font from Times New Roman to Garamond and was happy with the difference–classier. Final edits consisted of deletion or addition of a word here or there. The fourth round proved the final one.

Like the Creator in Genesis, I looked at the product of the last year-and-a-half of my life and felt . . . proud. At last, I held in my hands the book I’d envisioned when I first took up this project.  

PS: I’ve been afraid to read a published copy, because I don’t want to know if there are any typos or–God forbid–other horrible errors. So far, no one has mentioned anything, and I’ve learned that readers aren’t shy about pointing out your flaws.

Like every author I aim at publication by an established, royalty-paying house. In the serious writing world, there’s no substitute for industry acknowledgement and approval of your work. Not being a hobbyist, I strive for that.

Another motivation to seek commercial publication is found in the professional writing association I belong to. When I joined the group in 1996, and for a decade after that, “published” meant royalty- or fee-paying publication. Within the last few years, the organization’s Policies and Procedures have been rewritten to admit self-published authors to the highest level of membership. Nonetheless, there persists within the consciousness of members, whose work has been accepted and distributed by name-brand publishing houses, a sense that that self-published writers don’t deserve “published author” status. 

Six of my nine books have been published by royalty-paying houses. Would I like to add to that total? Of course. Then, why did I go POD with The Wisdom of Les Miserables: Lessons From the Heart of Jean Valjean? The answer is complex.

I researched the spirituality market and targeted agents and publishers most likely to be interested in my manuscript. I even had an inside lead at one of the major spirituality publishers. My queries and proposal submissions produced puzzling responses that, translated from industry-speak to common language, meant, “Interesting and unique, but I don’t get it” and/or “Well written, but I don’t know how to categorize this book.” I might have continued my search, but several factors led me to another solution.

I could have spent another six months trying to convince an agent to represent the book. If successul in securing representation, it could have taken another six-to-nine months to sell the manuscript. (Or not.) With the clock ticking from the moment of signing a book contract, publication might take another 12 to 18 months. Total time from marketing the manuscript to availability for sale? Easily two to two-and-a-half years! Having passed the age of 70,  I have a creeping sense of running out of time to write and publish all the books waiting inside me (including another based on Victor Hugo’s classic Les Miserables).

Another reason for self-publishing is the nature of The Wisdom of Les Miserables itself. My intention from the beginning has been to develop a series of workshops and retreats based on the book’s themes and personal Reflections. I made no senses to wait two-plus years for the book to come out. Therefore, the decision to self-publish turned out to be an easy one.  I let go of my professional pride and insistence on royalty-based publication–or no publication.

In the three weeks the book has been in circulation, it has sold well (by my standards) and earned positive feedback. This despite absence of bookstore availability. Another strike against the book is Amazon.com’s recent decision not to sell any POD book not produced by its in-house BookSurge (POD press). This arrogance has engraged a large segment of the publishing world, including the many royalty-paying publishers who use POD to produce and ship their books. 

In my next post, I will share why I chose Lulu Press, Inc. to produce The Wisdom of Les Miserables.  

An Interview with Cover Artist Douglas M. Lawson 

In my search for cover art for The Wisdom of Les Miserables, I found a close up of church doors with beautiful inset stained glass. The church appeared to be European and date from the 19^th century. That works, I thought. The grain of the oak doors spoke of solidity, maturity, and–yes–wisdom. Then, I stumbled upon a piece of art that captured in a much deeper way my vision of the book’s soul. The art was titled, “Val,” and the artist, Douglas M. Lawson, was someone I already knew. What I didn’t know was whether he would consent to let me use this work for the cover of my book. I was just as thrilled when he said yes, as he was to have me ask. Now, I want you to get to know him.

Garrotto: Doug, how do you feel about having “Val” on the cover of a book?

Lawson: I’m elated. It’s an honor.

Garrotto: You’ve titled the work, “Val.” Can you explain what that means or refers to?

Lawson: “Val,” is short for heart-valve. It’s an interesting coincidence that your book is about Jean Valjean and that you were drawn to the picture. We are looking into a cutaway of a human heart. The shape of the heart, in this case, is that of a broken human being, as Jean Valjean was. If you look closely below the heart and to the right, you will see the outline of a dove—a symbol of wisdom, peace and love.

Garrotto: Exactly what the book is about. What is it that you try to express, not just in this work, but in your art in general?

Lawson: I want to express many different shades of human emotion—happiness, sadness, anger—and spirituality, as well.

Garrotto:  How would you describe your artistic style?

Lawson: I don’t like to describe it in words. Rather, I am attempting to combine the surrealist ethos with abstract expressions.                                                                                                   

Garrotto: What are your goals as an artist?

Lawson: To have my work published, to become more involved with video production and animation.

Garrotto: What media do you work with?

Lawson: I use Photoshop, Illustrator, and Video Studio. Although I am left-handed, I do most of my computer work with a right-handed mouse.                                                    

Garrotto: Can you tell us what you are currently working on?

Lawson: A music-video featuring Johann Sebastian Bach’s little fugue in G minor.

Garrotto:  I understand that you have an interest in writing. Can you tell me something about that?

Lawson: I’ve started an advice book: Never Bet on a Horse Named Glue…and Other Logical Choices.

Garrotto:  I love it already! Can’t wait to see it in print someday. Thanks, Doug, for sharing with us and for making “Val” available to me. No more suitable piece of art exists to accompany what I am trying to express in The Wisdom of Les Miserables: Lessons From the Heart of Jean Valjean.

By the way, I have my eye on another of Douglas M. Lawson’s works for a second WLM book. You can e-mail the artist at douglasmlawson@yahoo.com.  

It took longer than expected, but The Wisdom of Les Miserables: Lessons From the Heart of Jean Valjean saw the light for the first time yesterday, March 4. When I first set forth to write a book, I feel like a sculptor standing before a block of marble. The sculptor knows that the statue he or she envisions is encased by that block. It’s just a question of working it until the image is found. When I begin to write, I know that the finished product is waiting there to be discovered. So, I chisel away at the words until I can stand back and say, “At last, there’s the book I set out to write!” In the case of The Wisdom of Les Miserables, it took 18 full-scale draft revisions, but I am satisfied with the result.

It would please me no end to share this book with you. To order, you may go to www.lulu.com/content/1795167 or you can use the mail-in order form on my website (www.blsinc.com/garrotto.htm). 

In future posts, I will talk about the cover art and the artist, a possible second Les Mis book, why I chose to self-publish, and other topics I hope will be of interest to the book’s and this blog’s readers.

I am pleased to announce a February 2008 release of The Wisdom of Les Miserables: Lessons From the Heart of John Valjean (Lulu Press).

What can a nineteenth century French novel teach us about life and love in the 21st century? Plenty. In “The Wisdom of Les Miserables: Lessons From the Heart of Jean Valjean,” Alfred J. Garrotto offers Victor Hugo’s flawed protagonist as a model for anyone in search of practical wisdom for everyday living. One of fiction’s most beloved characters, the former convict and life-long fugitive, represents humanity in both its brokenness and its potential for selfless—even saintly—living. The author offers his reader a set of intimate, meditative Reflections on topics ranging from principled living and forgiveness to parenting and the primacy of love. Each Reflection explores a universal theme, including the daily call to spiritual and moral conversion and the summary life-lessons parents impart to their children. Questions at the end of each Reflection invite the reader to use the book as a personal wisdom journal. Alfred J. Garrotto has authored four religious nonfiction books and five novels. His long experience as teacher and spiritual guide has prepared him to harvest the deeper meaning of “Les Miserables” and apply its inspiring message to modern daily life.   Cover art by Douglas M. Lawson

“Wisdom is a sacred communion. It is upon that condition that it ceases to be a sterile love of science, and becomes the one and supreme method by which to rally humanity; from philosophy it is promoted to religion. ”

Cosette, Book Second, VI:  Absolute Excellence of Prayer
Reflection           

From various modern renditions of wisdom, I have borrowed pieces and put them together in one statement that makes sense to me:

Wisdom is the ability, developed through experience, internal reflection and insight, to discern what is true and to exercise good judgment.

 Let me share what this statement means to me.
.  .  .  ability developed through experience           

Becoming wise requires that I commit myself to observing the human story as lived by those who have preceded me on this planet.  Analyzing that great body of experience, with its successes and failures, virtues and vices, I need to compare it to my  own unfolding story—my life circumstances, perceived problems, and decision-making processes.             

Victor Hugo steeped himself in the history of the human condition.  The fact that his political leanings shifted over his lifetime might be viewed—and would be in the contemporary American scene—as vacillation and expediency.  I prefer to think of it as a reflection of his hope that someone along the political spectrum, at some point in his lifetime, would eventually “get it right.”  He understood only too well the terrible consequences for society’s marginalized populations—les miserables—of failure to learn from the mistakes of the past.

.  .  .  internal reflection           

Based on what humanity has learned over time and what my own personal history and instincts reveal to me, I am called upon, at a given moment in time, to make the best evaluation of what I must do in similar historical circumstances.  In other words, I assess what has worked in the past to my benefit and to the greater good of all—and what hasn’t.           

Although Hugo’s personal habits and behaviors seemed eccentric at times, the author of Les Miserables possessed a rich interior life that combined personal faith in God and a keen desire to promote “liberty and justice for all.”

.  .  .  and insight            

Based on the results of my observation of history and reflection on its meaning, I gain creative insight to develop a plan for living satisfied and productive lives and promoting the welfare of those around me and the world at large.           

In Les Miserables, particularly in the life of the novel’s protagonist Jean Valjean, Victor Hugo drew a map for human living that, if followed, would create a more just, rational, and beautiful world than most human beings live in today.    

The evil portrayed in the persons of Inspector Javert and the Thenardiers (innkeepers), and in the legal and penal systems of the author’s  time, is a sinister model of inhuman behavior.  Hugo plunges his readers into the hell of these characters and institutions and—for me—their modern global counterpart (corporate greed, genocide, inter- and intra-religious slaughter, domestic poverty, homelessness, displaced refugees .  .  .  where does the list end?).

.  .  .  to discern what is true and to exercise good judgment.

Experience, reflection, insight: these are essential ingredients in the search for and discernment of elusive truth.  To the extent that truth is available and achievable, it leads me to sound judgment .  .  .  to wisdom.   

Harvesting the Depth and Richness of My Life 

How would I define or describe wisdom?

On a scale of one to  ten (10 being the highest), how would I rate myself as a wise person?

Who is the wisest person I have ever known or encountered? What is it (or was it) about him or her that merits this “gold star”?

Who in the current world community would I single out as someone who is “wise”?  What is it about this person that merits this assessment?

What would I need to do or change in my life to grow in wisdom? 

Copyright (c) 2007 by A. J. Garrotto