After meeting Laura Huxley I was interested to read some of her writings. This is a memoir she published about her life with Aldous. Of course I knew from Jim's research that Huxley had a broad range of interests and was knowlegable on just about everything, but what comes through in this memoir is his exceptional kindness and natural ability as a teacher. Laura recounts how he would teach her things by gently "reminding" her about them, knowing that she didn't know anything about the subject at all. What a wonderful teaching technique!
Also, his interest in everyone was very touching. He sincerely felt he could learn something from anyone and would just as happily talk to a seriously mentally ill person as the highest in society. And I think what I love the most are his comments close to the end of his life when he was asked what conclusions he had made after all his learning and knowledge and he simply said:
"The best thing I can offer is for people to be kinder to each other."
So simple and yet so wise.
