Jean-Claude Brouillet
And now what?

Jean-Claude Brouillet now lives in California where I had the chance to meet him after five years of research and a road trip of 7000 miles in 11 days. The numerous research I had done before finding his trace, I had told him in a letter (French version only).

Jean-Michel Ghoussoub and Jean-Claude Brouillet in California

I must admit that I was a little bit nervous driving along the Pacific Road no1. What if the man wasn't up to the hero I had idealized through his books and whose adventures took place 50 years ago...

Well, I shouldn't have been worried. The man was exactly as I had imagined him. He really is a fantastic person and I was most impressed. We were friends the moment we met. Despite all the things he managed to accomplish, the man doesn't take himself too seriously. Far from slowing down, he his still following his dreams.

When he's not skiing down the slopes of Mammoth Lake, he's traveling the world, from his Jojoba plantations in Arizona to his ranch in Paraguay and his friends in Gabon and Tahiti.

He is a born storyteller and can switch between a dozen of topics in five minutes. Colonial Africa, World War II, the Algerian independence, flying over the jungle or how, while wearing shorts, he was introduced to the President of Paraguay by his son Vladimir, and it goes on.

It was there, in his California ranch, with his charming wife and his children, that Jean-Claude, without knowing it, taught me the secret of his success. First: believe in your dreams; no matter how crazy they may seem. Then go for it. Never hesitate, never stop for too long and never surrender, ever.

Having accomplished everything he did and having lived, in a single lifetime, already more than most men do in ten; it would be easy for him to look back to the past. Instead, he's ferociously alive and working on numerous projects; looking towards the future and working hard to make new dreams come true. Is it possible that such a quest leads to anything but happiness?