Author: Elizabeth Gilbert
Publisher: New York: Viking
ISBN 0143038419
Copyright 2006
Pages 334
Quick Review: 4 Stars (out of 5)
Why I Read It: I saw the Oprah episode with the author, but it took until I saw the book at our local library sale to finally read it.
Where I Obtained the Book: I picked this up at my local public library used book sale.
Synopsis: Around the time Elizabeth Gilbert turned thirty, she went through an early-onslaught midlife crisis. She had everything an educated, ambitious American woman was supposed to want,a husband, a house, a successful career. But instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she was consumed with panic, grief, and confusion. She went through a divorce, a crushing depression, another failed love, and the eradication of everything she ever thought she was supposed to be. To recover from all this, Gilbert took a radical step. In order to give herself the time and space to find out who she really was and what she really wanted, she got rid of her belongings, quit her job, and undertook a yearlong journey around the world all alone. Eat, Pray, Love is the absorbing chronicle of that year. Her aim was to visit three places where she could examine one aspect of her own nature set against the backdrop of a culture that has traditionally done that one thing very well. In Rome, she studied the art of pleasure, learning to speak Italian and gaining the twenty-three happiest pounds of her life. India was for the art of devotion, and with the help of a native guru and a surprisingly wise cowboy from Texas, she embarked on four uninterrupted months of spiritual exploration. In Bali, she studied the art of balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence. She became the pupil of an elderly medicine man and also fell in love the best way,unexpectedly. An intensely articulate and moving memoir of self-discovery, Eat, Pray, Love is about what can happen when you claim responsibility for your own contentment and stop trying to live in imitation of society's ideals. It is certain to touch anyone who has ever woken up to the unrelenting need for change.
Review: This takes time to like. I was over page 50 and still whining about why was she still such a self
indulging git. Then I was stuck one day at work with nothing but this book to read and a free
period, so I continued and that is when the book got good. I would love to have the time and money
to go on a self discovery journey like she was able to do. 4 months in Italy, India, and Bali, imagine the
things you would learn and do? Her time in Italy was enjoyable and she ate everything she could.
In India she discovered meditating and how she could forget about Elizabeth and concentrate on
God. In Bali she found love and I have to say I'm glad I stuck it out.
At times the book was long and I wanted to slap the author, but most of the time I wanted to
hug her and tell her everything would be okay.
What I got from this book: All the unhappy people in the world are the cause of all the worlds problems(war, famine, murder etc.) Happy people never would think of doing those things. Finding happiness is a quest and a conscious decision, one you must work at it everyday of your life. Even if you are happy, if you don't work to stay that way you could lose it. Being happy is not only a gift to yourself, but to the world in general. Be happy for you and see the world change for the better because of it.
Author Biography: Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of the short story collection Pilgrims, which was a PEN/Hemingway Award finalist, a New York Times Notable Book, and one of "Glamour's" Best Books of the Year. Gilbert went to college in New York City in the early 1990's, and spent the years after college traveling around the country and the world, working odd jobs, writing short stories. She lives in New York's Hudson Valley. Her most recent book is the #1 New York Times Bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love. It was named by The New York Times as one of the 100 most notable books of 2006, and chosen by Entertainment Weekly as one of the best ten nonfiction books of the year. In 2008, Elizabeth was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World, by Time Magazine. (Bowker Author Biography)
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FYI: Currently selling for $7.01 on Amazon in hardback.
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