"Eat, Pray, Love"

Monday Media Review

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
by Elizabeth Gilbert

Gilbert fully engages the reader, sustaining a charming, funny tone in this glorious, heartfelt memoir. Finding herself full of despair following a messy divorce, the author embarks on a journey of self discovery by equally dividing a year among three countries; Italy, India and Indonesia.

First, the pleasure of savoring Italy’s delectable delights (lots of pasta and pizza!); next, time to pray, search and reflect at an ashram in India; and finally, balance and love in Bali. What fun it is to join her on her journey and watch her as she evolves along the way.

In addition to being a superb writer, her ability to bring the characters to life pulled me in from the start. I found her insights inspirational, her humor uplifting and her honesty enjoyable. In the end, I felt as if I had made a new friend. This book left me wanting more!

“I keep remembering one of my Guru’s teachings about happiness. She says that people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you’re fortunate enough. But that’s not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it.”

5 Stars!!
Original Release Date: January 30, 2007
Pages: 352