Book: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Cover Design by Helen Yentus
Photography by John Saponara
Edition: Paperback
Description:
In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want—husband, country home, successful career—but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she felt consumed by panic and confusion. This wise and rapturous book is the story of how she left behind all these outward marks of success, and of what she found in their place. Following a divorce and a crushing depression, Gilbert set out to examine three different aspects of her nature, set against the backdrop of three different cultures: pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and on the Indonesian island of Bali, a balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars
Review:
Eat, Pray, Love is a nonfiction book that follows writer Elizabeth Gilbert who goes on a journey of self-discovery after going through a difficult divorce. She set out to re-define herself and her life while living in three different countries: Italy, India and Bali.
In Italy, Elizabeth's goal was to experience pleasure and she spent months learning and speaking Italian, indulging in all the food she could eat and enjoying making new friends as she explored the country. However, she was also trying to sort through her broken heart over David, a man she had started dating in New York City while she was going through her divorce from her husband. Her relationship with David started out good but it eventually went downhill and she brought that emotional baggage with her on the trip. Adding to that was her having to work through depression and loneliness that occasionally affected her. I felt her time in Italy was just what she needed to feel alive again because her divorce had drained her emotionally, mentally and physically.
Her next journey would find her in India for several months exploring her spirituality through prayer, meditation and yoga at an ashram. This was supposed to be a time for quiet reflection but she was having a little difficulty quieting her mind and with attempting one meditation technique. Thinking about David (who she eventually broke up while she was in Italy) became a recurring issue with her. And despite receiving some good advice from her new friend Richard, she was having some difficulty letting go. Her relationship with David was over but I guess she was still emotionally invested in what could have been. I believe she got a lot of good insight into herself as well as eventually finding a way to let go of both her guilt over ending her marriage and of her relationship ending with David.
The final part of her trip took her to Bali for several months where she intended to find balance in her life. She reconnected with a Medicine Man, she had met during a prior writing assignment, where he was going to teach her a little more about meditation and balance. At this point, it felt like she had already achieved a state of balance and her life and her mind was much calmer than where she was at the start of this book. However, she did enjoy her new friendship with the Medicine Man as well as gaining new information and knowledge from him. She also met other new friends but I think finding love caught her by surprise because it was something she wasn't even looking for.
Elizabeth Gilbert strikes me as someone who overthinks things and they stay on her mind for a long time. I guess she needed that time during this book to re-evaluate her life and try to improve her mindset which tends to be immensely overwhelming at times.
I thought Eat, Pray, Love was a good read, it's an interesting look into the author's life as she takes time to heal her heart, mind and soul. However, there were times when it felt like the book was moving a tad slow and that the author included backstories and additional information as a way to stretch out the book.
No comments:
Post a Comment