Friday, August 5, 2011

Eat, Pray, Love: A Book Review

Have you ever found yourself at a point in your life where you felt more trapped than a feral lion at the zoo? Nothing brings you the happiness that it used to. Many of your close relationships with friends and family have drifted farther and farther away from your heart. Where is your out? You have responsibilities to take ownership of: finances, maybe a spouse and/or children, your career, spirituality, etc. Another huge responsibility many Americans forget to take ownership of is THEMSELVES! I would like to invite you on a journey through author of Eat, Pray, Love Elizabeth Gilbert’s life as she transformed her life from a depressed, trapped housewife to a culturally rich and recharged spiritual guru.

As readers of Eat, Pray, Love are first introduced to Liz, she is a sad Manhattan woman, trapped in her recent marriage, literally crying on the bathroom floor night after night, weeping over the circumstances life has currently abandoned her with. At this point in time, Liz does not know God, nor does she really even know herself. Finally, after another night of ritualistic sobbing in the bathroom, Liz decides to try something she has never done before. Pray. After that night of releasing many confessions, pleads, and tears, Liz writes a dramatic new schedule for the next year of her life.

To some, dropping a lifestyle one has spent his/her entire life to make can be nothing less than utterly terrifying. To Liz, it was the perfect prescription. In a matter of days, Liz filed for a divorce, told her job she was leaving (to return with a promised novel about her adventures), and rented a new apartment where she would begin living in Italy. Eat, Pray, Love takes the reader through three different experiences in three very different countries: Italy, India, and Indonesia. I will not spoil the entire book for you, but I will tell you that the difficult and heart-wrenching situations Liz triumphs over in the next 365 days will warm your heart. For many, it will hit a spot close to home. This book personally taught me how to be brave and take ownership of my life. I laughed; I cried; and I carried the book with me everywhere I went, just in case I had any chance to pick it back up and continue to prevail through my own challenging life vicariously through Liz’s story. Ms. Elizabeth Gilbert brilliantly hits a nerve her American audience sometimes desperately needs to feel.

If you are looking for some personal and professional words of encouragement without having to spill the beans to another individual, I strongly encourage you to take a wild chance on this book. The stories of soul-searching by stepping out of one’s comfort zone reflect that of Man’s Search for Meaning with a twist of The Stranger’s existentialism. Feel your soul rejuvenate as you eat, pray, and fall in love with Liz Gilbert.

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