Book Review: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

To be honest I don't know why I took so long to read this book, but I guess the timing couldn't have been better. I bought myself this book in 2013, but it is one of the many unread gems I have waiting for me to be discovered. A few of my friends read this book recently, so I decided one random day to watch the movie... I was hooked. 

Paperback

Published: 1st February 2007

Publisher: Riverhead books

334 pages

* What it's about *

A celebrated writer's irresistible, candid, and eloquent account of her pursuit of worldly pleasure, spiritual devotion, and what she really wanted out of life. 

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.

* My thoughts *

I loved this book, from beginning to end. It was like Liz was speaking straight to my heart and soul. I loved how brave she was to write about every topic, even the ones that most of us dare not to actually publish our thoughts about. Her humanness and sharing makes us feel not so bad and not so alone. It just goes to prove that we are not the first to go through something and definitely not the last. A lot of the book felt like I was reading about my own life and gave me hope that there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel.

The layout of the book is great. I enjoyed the short chapters, as it made it easier to squeeze in a quick read in between my travel holiday with my parents (as I am the type of reader who likes to read until the end of the chapter before putting the book down). 

She has a great sense of humor and and easy way of connecting with the reader. Liz is definitely my new superhero for a while. 

* Rating *