True Grit by Charles Portis: The Novel Cure for neediness

Portis' book is a sparingly written and beautifully crafted tale of revenge set in 1875 in Arkansas

John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn in the 1969 film version of Charles Portis' novel (Corbis)

Ailment: Neediness

Cure: True Grit by Charles Portis

Feeling able to ask for help when you need it is essential – even laudable. But if you're unable to do anything by yourself, your friends and family may find you burdensome. If you recognise this trait in yourself, you may, like a slushy road, be in dire need of a handful of grit. Find it in this sparingly written and beautifully crafted tale of revenge set in 1875 in Arkansas.

From the vantage point of old age, our narrator, Mattie Ross, recalls the murder of her father, drunkenly shot by a disgruntled hired hand named Tom Chaney when Mattie was 14 years old. She is sent by her family to collect her father's body – but unbeknownst to them, she has a further agenda. Discovering that Chaney has absconded with a gang of outlaws led by Ned "Lucky" Pepper and is hiding out in Indian Territory, she hires the local deputy marshal to go after him – a man she believes to have "true grit".

"Rooster" Cogburn, a tough, hard-drinking man with one eye and a relaxed attitude to using his gun, agrees to take on the job – but what he's not expecting is for Mattie to want to go with him. He does his utmost to shake her off, but when she forges a deep and fast-flowing river on horseback to catch up with him (he having taken the ferry), he realises she is a girl of unusual single-minded- ness and steely determination… and is perhaps even grittier than him. Together they endure hunger, shoot-outs, snakes and the bitter cold of winter – and Mattie never once complains.

Mattie's estimable pluck and refusal to give up – or succumb to any need for creature comforts – win our admiration every step of the way. By the end, we are filled with a vicarious sense of our new-found capabilities. Say farewell to your wishy-washy helplessness. From now on, be prepared to meet your challenges alone and head on. Any help that presents itself will be an added boon.

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