By: Elizabeth Gilbert
Aside from the nasty divorce and the age of the author, I saw a lot of myself in this book. If you haven’t heard from press about the book or the movie (starring Julia Roberts), this is the story of a woman who spends a year in three places–Italy (“eat”), India (“pray”) and Indonesia (“love”–more accurately, “balance”).
I loved all three parts of the book, all in equally different ways.
I could relate to the author’s time in Italy. There is something so magical about being there–the language is enchanting and beautiful, the people are welcoming and passionate, and the country itself is gorgeous, steeped in history, and holds such tradition in each field, city block, and winding sidewalk. I like to think that when I left, just as when the author did, that I left a little piece of my soul there.
The author’s spiritual journey through her time in India struck me for two reasons. During my time in acupuncture earlier this year, I started practicing yoga again, and I picked up two books on meditation and have been practicing when I’m able. Definitely not as often as I’d like, and I’m definitely not good at it yet (or even mediocre, really). But both of these things have helped me become more in tune with myself. The second reason is that I struggled for some time with spirituality and religious choice. I have finally found peace with these topics, but I had a hard time with it. It was really interesting to me to read someone else’s spiritual story.
The author’s journey to find balance in Indonesia strikes home with me because I feel like I’m on a perpetual quest to find balance in my life. Granted, if I could take a year off to do so, I do think it would be much easier than it is while holding a full-time job, keeping house, and keeping Eric happy. That said, I think Eric and I are finally at a point where we’re finding it. Not all the time, and not consistently, but more often than not, and we’re both much happier for it.
Rating: 5 stars.
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