Book and Author
“By the time she turned thirty, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern, educated, ambitious American woman was supposed to want – a husband, a house in the country, 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 complete eradication of everything she ever thought she was supposed to be.”
“To recover from all of 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, left her loved ones behind and undertook a year-long journey around the world, all alone. Eat, Pray, Love is the chronicle of that year. Gilbert’s 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 Italy, 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, where, with the help of a native guru and a surprisingly wise Texan, she embarked on four months of austere spiritual exploration. Finally, in Indonesia, she sought her ultimate goal: balance – namely, how to somehow build a life of equilibrium between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence. Looking for these answers on the island of Bali, she became the pupil of an elderly, ninth-generation medicine man and also fell in love in the very best way – unexpectedly.”
“A memoir of self-discovery, Eat, Pray, Love is about what can happen when you claim responsibility for your own contentment. It is also about the adventures that can transpire when a woman stops trying to live in imitation of society’s ideals. This is a story certain to touch anyone who has ever woken up to the unrelenting need for change.” Published in 2006, 334 pages.
Description from book jacket.
Discuss
The accompanying notebook has biographical information about the author, an author interview by Penguin, book discussion questions from www.readinggroupguide.com, and reading suggestions if you enjoyed this memoir.
Enhance
For ambitious cooks, try a DVD party to explore the food from the countries Gilbert visits as you enjoy the film. Here’s a write up of a fabulous DVD party.
If dishes from three different countries seems to ambitious, you could try making the Bucatini Julia Robert’s eats in the film.Or skip the film and discuss the book over a Gilbert inspired meal. Hillary at Recipe4Living has several recipes to choose from.
Interact
Tell us what you thought of the book, or tell us what your book club did.