The Nicholls Worth - Lagniappe

Issue: 9/9/04
Former Nicholls professor publishes first book; Nicholls to serve as example of South
By Geoffrey Stoute

Possessing a great love for Nicholls State and Louisiana in general, Ernest de l'Autin, a former Nicholls professor of chemistry, recently published "Reach to the Wounded Healer," a book with a Nicholls theme.

De l'Autin, a 1975 Nicholls alumnus, said he chose Nicholls State to be in his book because of his profound love for the institution and the quality education he received here.

"I love the school (Nicholls)," De l'Autin said. "I've attended five universities and have three degrees from three different ones (universities), and it (Nicholls) is absolutely my favorite University in the world. I received an education there that was second to none."

De l'Autin said he has always wanted to write a book; his experiences with students at Nicholls prompted him to begin a novel called "The Quest," a self-help book for college students.

"When I was teaching in the University, I always wondered what it would really take to inspire people, and I always wondered why some people found the college experience so challenging," De l'Autin said. "What I discovered was that if you really took the time to explore why (the reason college was challenging), the reason that was typically given was not the reason."

De l'Autin believed that all people, including himself, had something hurtful happen to them either now or at an earlier stage in their life that affected them.

"Everybody had something hurtful that was happening to them, and I was no different," De l'Autin said. "I lost my father at a very young age; I've lost several friends to accidents. I lost a student at Nicholls to a suicide. I lost another student that was an alcoholic, and we did not know that he was an alcoholic. These things really impacted me as a person so I decided after writing "The Quest" to write a metaphor like "The Alchemist," an international best-selling book by Brazilian author Paulo Coehlo."

According to De l'Autin, he never published "The Quest," which he called "self-help mush," because he did not think anyone would read it or want to follow what it stated. Instead, he started on a 20-year journey to write a novel that would "pluck the heart and uplift the spirit and reach the human soul," which came to form as "Reach to the Wounded Healer."

Students and others interested in "Reach to the Wounded Healer" will have the opportunity to meet De l'Autin when he comes to the University bookstore on Sept. 15 for a book signing session. He will be available to sign copies of "Reach to the Wounded Healer," from 9:30 a.m. to 5p.m.

De l'Autin said he believes that those living in south Louisiana are portrayed in a negative light in the various facets of the media, and his mission in his stories is to tell of the south Louisiana that is frequently not shown in the media.

"I've grown very weary of television commercials, newspaper articles and movies that paint those of us who are from southern Louisiana as illiterate bumpkins," De l'Autin added. "It's come to be expected that where someone comes from is how they act, but what's really important is what's in someone's head and in their heart."

There are also plans to turn "Reach to the Wounded Healer" into a movie.

"We are in discussions with various representatives from the Hollywood community," De l'Autin said. "One of the things we are negotiating is that not only would it be set around Nicholls, but that if it did come about, we would shoot partly in Thibodaux."

De l'Autin says this book is part of a trilogy with the next book already in the publishing stages.

"'Of the Oaks,' which is the next book that will come out, and the third book in that trilogy, 'Haunted By Spirit,' are continuations of stories of the 'Reach of the Wounded Healer' theme," De l'Autin said.

De l'Autin also has a different trilogy in the works that will be set entirely on the Nicholls State campus.

"The book that is set primarily on the Nicholls campus is called 'Loved and to Excellence,'" De l'Autin said. "It's a story of a college professor and three students that he befriends. It is based somewhat on truth, inspired by the suicide of a Nicholls student who had AIDS, based on the death of the student who was an alcoholic and the trials and tribulations of many students. (This book's purpose is) to paint a very positive picture of how the University responded to these incidents."