Sweetness of Life

Francoise Heritier, an anthropologist, is Emeritus Professor at the College de France and the Ecole des Hause Etudes en Sciences Sociales. She is the author of such highly successful works as Masculin/feminin and De la violence, translated into more than ten languages. Le Sel de la Vie is currently a French bestseller.

On first meeting her, one is struck by the way she combines gentleness with energy. A small woman with a fragile appearance for much of her life, she has suffered for many long years from a handicapping autoimmune disorder, which she faces philosophically while admitting with humour that she now avoids mirrors. She loves life too much to mope. She knows how to add a dash of gaiety to her misfortunes, has not lost a jot of her elegance, continues to delight her friends with her daube with carrots, is enchanted by Bach's harpsichord and by Chet Baker's trumpet. Françoise Héritier is basically optimistic. Without ignoring the world's misery, she is convinced that 'we live in a wonderful era'