A Trick of the Light (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #7)

by Louise Penny

“Have you ever had a mentor, Chief Inspector?” “I have. Still do.” “Then you know how intimate that relationship can be.” She looked at Beauvoir for a moment, her eyes softening, and she smiled a little. “I do,” said the Chief. “And I can see you’re married.” Suzanne indicated her own barren ring finger. “True,” said Gamache. He was watching her with thoughtful eyes. “Imagine now those relationships combined and deepened. There’s nothing on earth like what happens between a sponsor and sponsee.” Both men stared at her. “How so?” Gamache finally asked. “It’s intimate without being sexual, it’s trusting without being a friendship. I want nothing from my sponsees. Nothing. Except honesty. All I want for them is that they get sober. I’m not their husband or wife, not their best friend or boss. They don’t answer to me for anything. I just guide them, and listen.” “And what do you get out of it?” asked Beauvoir. “My own sobriety. One drunk helping another. We can bullshit a lot of people, Inspector, and often do. But not each other.