Alexandra David-Néel Quotes
Explorer Writer
Alexandra David-Néel was explorer writer from France
“I craved to go beyond the garden gate, to follow the road that passed it by, and to set out for the Unknown.”— Alexandra David-Néel
From the preface of 'My Journey to Lhasa' (1927), where David-Néel recalls her childhood longing to explore beyond the familiar. She became the first Western woman to enter Lhasa in February 1924.
The Story of Alexandra
One Hundred Years Old
Alexandra returned to Digne-les-Bains in southern France, where she wrote, lectured and kept studying until the end. Her adopted son Yongden died of kidney failure in October 1955, leaving her alone. She hired a young secretary, Marie-Madeleine Peyronnet, in 1959. In her late nineties she renewed her passport, saying she intended to travel again. She died on September 8, 1969, just weeks before her 101st birthday. Per her wishes, Peyronnet scattered her ashes and Yongden's together into the Ganges River. Her books influenced Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Alan Watts. Her house in Digne is now a museum.
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