Eat Pray Love

This is a book that changed my life. In fact, I probably want to be Elizabeth Gilbert. Witty, wise, and wonderful, it made me want to go to Italy to eat, to pilgrimage to India to pray, to fall in love in Bali, and to write about that journey.

I read it nearly twenty years ago and it still inspires me today.

This book was revolutionary in its time because it was very rare at the time of publication that someone could go abroad to really discover themselves.

Gilbert forcing herself to focus on the absolute most terrifying thing–your own areas for growth–leads her into dark places, but also the bright light at the end of the tunnel that comes with doing this type of self work. It was quite enjoyable joining her on this journey and what each place she visited taught her.

This book is a captivating journey of self-discovery and inner strength that resonates deeply with anyone seeking meaning and fulfillment in their lives.

Through Elizabeth Gilbert's immersive storytelling, we are transported across three continents as she embarks on a quest for self-discovery following a difficult divorce. Her journey is both inspiring and transformative in a way that is very similar to my own memoir. 

What sets this book apart is the unwavering honesty and vulnerability. Another aspect that inspired how I wanted to write my story. She fearlessly confronts her fears, doubts, and insecurities, inviting readers to join her on… show more.

Of course, Eat, Pray, Love. This memoir is iconic and beloved; a book translated into more than thirty languages, and a bestseller with good reason.

Almost any woman alone and seeking “everything,” can find herself here. With humor and insight and damn good writing, Elizabeth Gilbert takes us along in her year-long search for herself and her desperate need for change. 

The questions: who am I and what matters to me echo loudest after a devasting loss. Gilbert’s losses were threefold: a divorce, a depression, and a failed love affair. Mine was the death of my husband and the discarding… show more.

Everyone has a story to tell, and most peoples’ stories contain some kind of heartache, loss, or moment when life smacked them in the face and left them reeling.

This is a book about what it takes to get back up and how to do it in style. 

I loved how this book struck the balance between the frailty of humanity and the inner knowing that you can transform your life and make it work for you. 

If you want to learn how to turn your life’s lemons into lemonade, grab and copy and dive in. You will be immersed… show more.

I’m afraid this one might have lost its luster after they turned it into a mediocre film. I think it is still worth all the hype it got when it came out! Elizabeth Gilbert has a warm, engaging writing style, and I love any writer (and person) who can be honest about the good, bad, and ugly of a human life. This is a wonderful story of self-exploration and the many paths available to grow our spiritual lives. 

What is more truly vagabond than packing up your life and traveling abroad for a year? Elizabeth dives deep into herself by going solo and immersing herself in three cultures. Hers is the perfect illustration of rejecting societal norms and her own internal demons to find the abundant life she wants.

Plagued by loneliness and on medication for depression, Elizabeth Gilbert set off to find balance in her inner nature between devotion and pleasure. She had the talent, the drive and the resources to be able to devote a year to a journey into herself to find the kinds of things her nature craved – sensory pleasure in Italy, spiritual devotion in India, and to Indonesia to find balance. Her book is a combination guide to the outer places she went to physically, and the inner places she visited emotionally and spiritually.