According to a recent study, the tendency to remain single is spreading among both men and women worldwide. The tendency, however, does not augur well for society in general. An adult woman no doubt will feel lonely and disturbed without biologically and psychologically required male companionship, and it will eventually drive her to a state of frustration and pessimism. The realization that she will never find serious love in her life is, undeniably, a factor that will negatively affect her personality and practical life.
Behavior of an unmarried woman exposed to disappointing situations and pessimism and related feelings runs the risk of becoming rough and inhospitable — and eventually repellent to people with whom she interacts. It is wrong for single women advancing in age and without partners in life, either because of unsuccessful marriages or lack of interest in family life, to harbor preconceived notions that men are difficult to live with.
Just as there are plenty of nice and admirable men, men with opposite qualities also are found in large numbers. Therefore, a woman who had the misfortune of an unhappy marriage should give a second try expressing her determination and desire to enter a relationship, which could be successful and make her forget her earlier bitter experiences.
Another dangerous notion that a large number of young men and women in general have about the marital relations is that the love and attachment between them may become a noose around their necks.
Such ideas occur to people because of their fear of both responsibilities and duties a couple takes up after marriage. These are wrong-minded notions that may block the flow of emotions of love and affection in their hearts and prompt them to live mechanical lives crushed under the weight of loneliness.
“A Paper Life” is the autobiography of Tatum O’Neal — the youngest person ever to win an Academy Award to this day. It is the story of a childhood full of neglect and abuse — emotional, physical, and sexual on the one hand, and on the other, a story of the struggle for survival by a desperate drug addict who’d lost control of her life and custody of her children.
Tatum was impelled by an urge to share her unhappy memories despite the embarrassment it might cause to her father, Ryan O’Neal, leading actor of the Hollywood blockbuster “Love Story,” and her former husband, John McEnroe, the world-renowned tennis player.
Tatum who won the 1973 best supporting actress award for her role in “Paper Moon” in 1973 at the age of 10 attributed her early suffering to the fight between her actress mother, Joanna Moore, and her father before their divorce. Moore struggled with alcohol, her addictions growing worse after her divorce from O’Neal. The parental neglect left Tatum living in squalor as well as starvation, physical abuse, sexual molestation and underage drinking that led to suicide attempts. With no one to take care of her, she sought refuge in drugs. She also claims in the book that it was early addiction that deprived her of the ability to make correct decisions and prompted constant mood swings.
It was at one of many such moments of hazy perception without anyone to advise her that she made the decision to marry the tennis champion. Before she turned 20 she already had acted in 20 films. It was at the age of 21 that she met McEnroe and married him. They had three children, though the marriage proved to be a failure. Her life with him was extremely unhappy and profoundly painful. In the aftermath of their breakup, she faced a bitter legal battle for the divorce and later an equally bitter fight for the custody of their three children.
Tragedy continued to plague her as she watched helplessly while her mother succumbed to the ravages of cancer. Her father’s second marriage also was traumatizing and intensified her overwhelming sadness and feeling of abandonment by her parents.
At the age of 40, the memories are still painful for her. “A Paper Life” has topped the bestseller list on Amazon.com. The book has prompted several readers to demand an apology from Ryan O’Neal for what he did — and didn’t do — in raising his daughter.
It seems strange that the biography of a former French president has been written by his chauffeur. Strange or not, Francois Mitterrand’s story has been written by Pierre Tourlier, his former chauffeur.
Tourlier, who also served as the president’s bodyguard, had the advantage of viewing the late leader at very close quarters. He sheds light on several aspects of the late French president’s private life and Tourlier tells the story from the angle of a devoted servant.
In his private life, Mitterrand was surprisingly simple and easy-going. He wanted to be treated like any ordinary person even when he was president. He had only one bodyguard instead of the two allowed while he was the secretary-general of the Socialist Party, says Tourlier.
Later, Mitterrand refused to install a telephone in the presidential car. Instead, he would ask the chauffeur to stop at a public telephone booth if he wanted to make a call.
Mitterrand enjoyed visiting shops selling old books and furniture. After having his lunch, he liked to wander through the streets of Paris. Even when he became president, he still enjoyed his walks.
According to his chauffeur, Mitterrand liked to go to the newsstand himself and buy what he wanted. He also enjoyed mixing with ordinary people and talking to them.
Tourlier also says that not only the French Interior Ministry but a number of leading journalists and politicians as well were aware of Mitterrand’s secret life and his illegitimate daughter. No one revealed the secret until the president decided to withdraw from political life.
Tourlier also discusses Mitterand’s affection for his relatives and friends and how kindly he treated them in contrast to his sometime rough treatment of his staff.
The chauffeur also confessed that in the early 1960s, before he worked for Mitterrand, he was very active in a secret group working against Gen. de Gaulle and his Algerian policy. He was also involved in operations aimed at assassinating leaders who disagreed with his group regarding French policy in Algeria.
