Eat, Pray, Love is a short yet powerful book by Elizabeth Gilbert. The full title of the book is "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia".
Part memoir about the author's breakup from an unfulfilling (yet not terrible) marriage and part travelogue, Eat, Pray, Love is a chatty book that reads like one long letter from a girlfriend.
She's unsparing about her own failings and problems and doesn't place the blame for her divorce on her ex - instead, she beautifully expresses the existential "Is this all there is?" angst that so many women feel who have bought into the American dream of husband, house in the suburbs, and child, only to realize that in their heart they desire none of those things.
When Elizabeth Gilbert realizes that marriage and kids aren't for her (at least, with this particular man, at this particular time in her life,) she embarks on a personal, funny, and moving quest to find out just what IS right for her.
And she takes us on the journey with her.
Through the author's optimistic and breezy recounting of her adventures, we get to travel with her to Italy, India and Indonesia. Part spiritual quest, part journey of self-discovery, and part hedonistic escapade, her experience echoes what so many women go through. How do you find meaning and spirituality while also fully celebrating the wonderful things that life in a physical body can offer you? Through her, we taste the gourmet wonders of Italy, learn about repose and meditation at an Indian ashram, and embark on an unpredictable yet entertaining affair while pursing mystical knowledge with a funny medicine man in Bali. (Yes, it turns out there are such things as funny medicine men. Spiritual advisors and healers aren't all deadly serious, Gilbert discovers.)
This is a great stocking stuffer type of book -- a short, breezy read. I'm giving copies to the girlfriends in my life who have pursued all the trends like yoga, Pilates, crystals, massage, and so forth while at the same time finding those traditions (which are too often into denial of bodily pleasure) stultifying and restrictive.
I love Gilbert's message about how we can all find a balance between the pleasures of the body and the joys of the soul. I fully believe that that's what we're here to achieve, anyway.
I mean, c'mon. We're spiritual beings, sure, but we've chosen to hang out in these bodies for a while. Why not charge them with passion, joy, and pleasure? Doesn't that make us more able to extend love and positive energy to others, because we ourselves are experiencing life as JOY instead of LACK?
Repressing desire, repressing fun, or cutting out too many carbs only lasts so long on the spiritual path. As with all things, eventually we must come full circle - and as this happens we usually strive for a balance of living in both worlds. We're spiritual beings having a material experience. Both aspects of our nature should be honored and celebrated, and this book inspires readers to do just that.
This book is perfect for the armchair traveler in your life interested in gaining a glimpse into exotic places, and it will also resonate with women in your life who have loved and lost, loved and hated, and loved and despaired only to later find joy again. Inspiring and fun, you've got to check out this book!
I don't always agree with Oprah's book recommendations, but this was actually a book I wanted to write a review on for some time, and when I saw that Oprah was featuring it on her show today, I said - let me share my own impressions of this entertaining and enlightening book.
In short, I say get a copy - and consider stocking up on a few extra editions for those women in your life who are seeking ways to remain "good girls" while still craving some "bad girl" experiences. This book shows you that craving love, wanting good food, or desiring more than what you have doesn't make you "bad." It simply means that your spirit is expanding in what it needs to feel fulfilled.
And that's a good thing.
Source: lipstickmystic.com
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