Books We Are Grateful For

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LINOTTE
THE EARLY DIARY OF ANAIS NIN
1914-1920

from page 108:

"On rereading these last pages...Sleep now, for later on the sea will be angry and your sole support will be:  God.

What was I trying to say?  That the thought of prayer, of surrender, of trusting in our Lord, came to me very late.  Only when I was sick and in pain did I pray to Him to whom I should have prayed during times of joy.  Ungrateful one!  Later, I prayed, but since I wasn't used to depending on prayer, in my moments of sadness I turned toward humanity where, of course, more than consolation, I found the need to be consoled.  In my diary, I unburdened my heart, but nowhere could I find hope.  Until now, I felt an emptiness in my heart that I would never have tried to fill, and it was prayer, which still plays a role in the human heart, sometimes unrecognized, sometimes splendidly powerful.

From now on, I have two companions:  my earthly diary and heavenly prayer.  Both of them console, both strengthen, and both know the faults of their Anais.  In prayer I find hope, in my diary I plant the virtue that I want to imprint forever on my second soul, so as to achieve it...if...I can..."

- entry March 7, 1916
(age 13)