Eat, Pray, Love One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia

I should have not read this book while on an empty stomach, because first and foremost all the descriptions of pasta made me so hungry!

This book surprised me how relatable it was, considering the author was 10 years older than my current age when she wrote it, but I enjoyed the journey of finding herself and finding her own form of spiritualism. I thought it was overall a very philosophical view on life that I could relate and empathize with.

This was a very organized memoir. I liked Gilbert’s thoughts on spirituality and working on yourself for yourself. I think she mixed fun and serious stories well so that the story flowed smoothly.

this is one of those books that will stay with me for a long long time... i loved it!!

Too long, too indulgent, too slow. The pacing was bad, and the 'learning lessons' were patronizing. Not a fan. The movie was great, better way to consume the story.

I had some uncanny moments, when I was reading Eat, Pray, Love. Like those strange moments when you can’t believe those words you see on paper, because they project an accurate picture of yourself, as though the writer was a fly in your bedroom, and had unconditional access to the most private sections of your life. Sigh! My blog on the book: http://worncorners.com/2016/02/27/eat...

La manera perfecta de terminar el año. Qué viaje. Me lo llevo conmigo eternamente.

Can I go on my own year long trip to find myself?

I really enjoyed reading about her journey & resonated so much with her time in Italy! I my or may not be getting a tattoo inspired by her time in Italy… is that crazy?

Anyways, although I did enjoy this book so much I feel like I’m this point of my life I need a healing journey even if that is just a self help book. Reading about someone else finding piece is just not what I needed right now! Love the writing though & the cute eclectic vibe in the printing 🫶🏽

هو كتاب عن تجربة (( الأنـا )) هذا الكتاب يلخص كل ما هو عليه المجتمع الأميركي الذي يدور حول نفسه ، وأيضا ما يمكن أن تفعله الرفاهية بالفرد.. فمظاهر وأسباب الشقاء التي تجعل من المجتمع الأميركي أكثر عرضة للاكتئاب وإقبالاً على الانتحار مختلفة تماما عن مفهوم الشقاء في أى مجتمع أخر. فالكتاب ملئ بالحديث عن الدمار والتفكك ومصارعة الاكتئاب في حياة الكاتبة دون تقديم أسباب مقنعة للقارئ لإبداء التعاطف ، أو يمكن اعتبار الأسباب المُقدمة كافية لأن يتفهمها المجتمع الأميركي وحده ولا يمكن أن تتفهمها بأي حال من الأحوال مجتمعات تعانى من الفقر وويلات الحروب الأهلية مثلا (كأسباب مقنعة للحديث عن المعنى الحقيقي للشقاء وكفيلة للشعور بالاكتئاب).. والشئ الواضح بقوة فى الكتاب أنه أظهر نظرة الأميركى لنفسه على أنه دائما الضحية ويعانى من الظلم ولا يستطيع إيجاد من يفهمه أو إيجاد السعادة مع ان الكل يعتقد بسعادته. لكن هذا لا يمنع إعجابي بالكتاب فقط من منطلق أن الكل يريد تجربة السفر واستكشاف ثقافات جديدة ، حتى لو بشكل غير مباشر.. ولو يمكن اعتباره نوعا من أدب الرحلات سيكون أفضل من اعتباره سيرة ذاتية بالمعنى المقدم على أساسه الكتاب

I loved the book and I came out of it with a sense of wonderment and joyous marvel a propos to the main character's experiences in her world travels; in particular, the focused discussions she continually had with her guru. I felt very empathetic to all her travails, relatable to most of us in our life's journey, and certainly her search for meaning in her life brought me to a similar conclusion as well, notably about divinity, love, and fulfilling our life's purpose. So I thank Elizabeth for offering us her insight into the beauty that we call L-I-F-E!

Review here: http://readwatchlistenrun.blogspot.co...

I laughed, I cried, I couldn't put it down

When I first picked up this book, I didn't know how I'd feel about it. I'm usually wary about "self-help" books, or just memoirs in general because I don't know what to think. But this was different. As I began listening to it, it wasn't bad, and Elizabeth Gilbert narrated the audiobook, which helped a lot. She was witty and funny, and I think because I listened to it in audiobook form, I liked it even more. I enjoyed the book, but if I had to choose which portion of the book I didn't like as much was the first section when she visited Italy. Not that it was a bad portion or anything, I think I just didn't get into it as much. Once she reached India and eventually Indonesia, I thought it really picked up. I was also worried that it would contain a lot of preachy type of dialogue with the reader, such as "You have to pray this way, you have to meditate this way, you have to love the Christian God and nothing else." But this book wasn't like that. I didn't feel pressured to think of one God more than another. She was able to appreciate each culture but not forget her own, but instead incorporate it into her own life. Overall, I thought this was a good book if you're looking for something that can give you a new perspective. I also recommend the audiobook, since the author read it herself and some of her jokes and sarcasm could be better told through her voice.

This book had been coming up so often that I felt like I should give it a read, despite being hesitant. I thought I'd hate it but I didn't (well, not completely). The author and her belief in magic and coincidences, along with her whiny me-me-me observations didn't do it for me. However, it did make me want to go to Italy (duh) and check out Bali...without the search for a spiritual guru or complaining about my thighs.

من أجمل ما قرأت :) أنا أحبك .. لن أتخلّى عنك أبداً .. بل سأعتني بك دائماً ... <3

reading this novel over several months has really been pleasant and inspiring, the author has the talent of story telling, the journey has been nice and well organized, however the 'India' part was a bit too long with a few new things that happen in every chapter.

I enjoyed part 1 immensely, she was hilarious and poignant without being heavy, preachy or perfect. Once she left Italy I couldn't follow her journey. The tone changed (understandably so) but I just couldn't stay with her. Perhaps I haven't evolved enough in my own personal spiritual journey so that I can relate.

not enough eating tbh

Hm. Where do I begin? I immensely enjoyed this book. This is not a book you finish and say, I liked that book, I didn't like that book, I loved that book, I didn't love that book. This is a book you ENJOY. Or you don't enjoy it, if you're crazy. However, this book is not for the faint of heart. It took me 4 months to read, which is absolutely unheard of for me. This though, is because I truly feel that each chapter, or as Elizabeth Gilbert refers to them "beads", has to be savored. You cannot breeze through this book, simply because it was not meant to be breezed through. She writes in such a style that I really have no explanation for. Maybe 'ornately'. I am relieved to finally finish because I am not one who is used to having to ease through a book, but at the same token I'm sad that my journey through her journey is over. You finish this book with satisfaction, and a very strong desire to be friends with Liz Gilbert.

Good in parts, frustrating in others. Elizabeth Gilbert paints characters really well, and she did an excellent job illustrating a sense of place, tangibly and more abstractly, across the three places she visited. It just started to get soooooo navel-gazey for me though and I agree with other reviews that it seemed like once she "learned" what she was "supposed" to learn in each leg of her journey, she kind of just checked it off of her list and then went to the next place; it didn't feel from the outside that she was really changing or bringing with her as much enlightenment as she thought she was internally. That said, I think there is some great wisdom in this book and the section in India was my favorite. It seemed to me like Liz learned the most from the good friends she made, not from the places themselves. I liked that. It also made me feel a lot better to learn that meditating is hard for everyone!! There's hope for me :)

It really bothers me how negative some of these reviews are. It's disheartening to read people accusing Gilbert of narcissism and a lack of awareness regarding her own privilege. But this is HER personal memoir that she felt urged to write. She even does a good job of explaining that she understands her situation and ability to take a year off from working, etc. was incredibly rare. How dare we criticize a woman for breaking out of her boundaries that were stifling her and making her depressed. That has nothing to do with her being white or American or rich. I've also seen a lot of people say that her leaving her husband was selfish, which just seems an utterly absurd criticism to me. She was reaching out and making decisions regarding her own happiness. Isn't that what we all should do, when it really comes down to it? This book gives you the hope that it really is never too late to begin again and strive toward the life you truly want to be living. Some cheesy moments but incredibly uplifting and optimistic.

It is wonderful to hear a story of a woman who goes through a life crisis and doesn't do everything just right. A woman who want to have sex, and wants to be alone and doesn't miraculously decide they want to have children. I am really glad I decided to approach this tbr via audio-book, there is a lot of Italian and other phrases in languages I don't know. The effect would have been ruined if I just glazed over the portions I can't read. Also, she gave long, beautiful descriptions that honestly may have been arduous to read, but were so nice to listen to. The narrative was... pretentious. Not in a way that made me stop reading/listening, so that is all that matters. It was also a very common tone of the auto-biographical pieces from the 2000 (read in school); I don't read many (auto) biographies to be a reliable opinion on the whole. Plus, sometimes pretentious is not such a bad thing. And regardless, the lessons she learned, especially from her time in India, called me out and resonated to the point that I wanted to go on a journey myself. I am glad I finally got to this book, it has been on my tbr for long enough and I am satisfied with my thoughts on it. I feel there needs to be a trigger warning for this book because she very blatantly and explicitly describes her suicidal thoughts. "You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day. This is a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That's the only thing you should be trying to control."

Uggghh this book just increases my need and want to travel! LOVE this book

Reminded me of my own travels through some of the same countries. Enjoyable enough. - March 2017 review I’m not sure what drew me to reread this book, perhaps the memory that the author is broken at the beginning, limping and beaten down emotional, mentally and spiritually and makes the empowered decision to nurture, nourish and rescue herself. Having dealt with a lot of health issues and trauma in the years since I first read this book, I returned with new eyes and resonated very strongly with her journey to rebuild herself from the ground up, which I too have done. A book that will either speak to you, or not. - Nov 2021 review

I don't know what it was about this book but I just could not get into it... I started it in 2014 and still have not finished it!!!! That being said what I did read I enjoyed but for some reason it did not engaged me enough to pick it back up! maybe one day I will....