What Happened in Between: A Doctor's Story

Dr. Welch sometimes used to say in reference to books about Gurdjieff's teaching that he wished none of them had been written, and he may have felt that this one, which is implicitly about the teaching, that it might serve as an antidote to some of the more explicit expositions. I don't know. This is a memoir in the now dying tradition whereby the author selects incidents from his past that all together form a mosaic self portrait, which, in turn, the author hopes, will incite in the depths of his readers a rich mix of emotion. It tries to include a little of everything. Of course, all this in his case and for many others of us would not amount to much of note if it were not for the influence of Gurdjieff's teaching, which is central to it, but which is demonstrated in its effects on a real person rather than in admonitions and high sentiments. It's not a comfortable, entertaining remembrance of a contented life. There are things to object to in it, one, the somewhat archaic, 1940s New Yorker style prose, but worse than that is the combined sense of shame and embarrassment one is likely to feel reading it, the pangs of conscience. The difficulty honesty represents is not widely acknowledged, but it's our fundamental incapacity and its presence is bound to make you feel uncomfortable. The seeing of one's own real nature is the basic theme and most of the observations about Gurdjieff here have to do with this:"the hub of the wheel", that unique feature endlessly glossed over and justified which lies at the core. So if you have any appetite at all for this kind of discomfort, this book is highly recommended.