Elizabeth Gilbert

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

Eat, Pray, Love

It's 3 a.m. and Elizabeth Gilbert is sobbing on the bathroom floor. She's in her thirties, she has a husband, a house, they're trying for a baby - and she doesn't want any of it. A bitter divorce and a turbulent love affair later, she emerges battered and bewildered and realises it is time to pursue her own journey in search of three things she has been missing: pleasure, devotion and balance. So she travels to Rome, where she learns Italian from handsome, brown-eyed identical twins and gains twenty-five pounds, an ashram in India, where she finds that enlightenment entails getting up in the middle of the night to scrub the temple floor, and Bali where a toothless medicine man of indeterminate age offers her a new path to peace: simply sit still and smile. And slowly happiness begins to creep up on her.

One Woman's Search for Everything

You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings.

Naomi Rioux 

Grace

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 🫶🏽

Mariah crawford

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 🫶🏽

E-thar

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

Stavroula Kalantzis

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!

Traces the author's decision to quit her job and travel the world for a year after suffering a midlife crisis and divorce, an endeavor that took her to three places in her quest to explore her own nature, experience fulfillment, and learn the art of spiritual balance. 75,000 first printing.

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

Gillian Rose

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

Meghan Navoy

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

Jordan Peet

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.

Jeannette Ordas

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.

Sanaa Shaltout

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

In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want - husband, country home, successful career - but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she felt consumed by panic and confusion.

Eat Pray Love

Hussein Mahran

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.

Michele

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.

Latitude Tamarind

Paige

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.

Elizabeth Moore

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 :)

Courtney Woolery

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.

Jenny

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."

Jade Lee

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

Sarah Ryan

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

The Number One international bestseller, Eat, Pray Love is a journey around the world, a quest for spiritual enlightenment and a story for anyone who has battled with divorce, depression and heartbreak.

Sophie Hutchings

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....

Stefanie Sugia

I can't really say that I love this book, but it was totally enjoyable. It also teaches some points about facing problems in our lives. Elizabeth's experience truly inspired me with all the things going on in her life. 
Since I'm not someone who's very good in English, this book helps me improve a little. And with Elizabeth's beautiful way of writing, I can keep reading for hours and doesn't want to put it down.
I'm very excited with the sequel and I hope it satisfy me as much as this one does. :)

Etel Yamilette Conde Gonzalez

Took me forever for God knows what reason. I loved it! Couldn’t seem to focus, nothing to do with the book, more because of me than the actual book.

Shayna Mae

Absolutely fantastic, an all time favourite

Jenni Pertuset

I listened to Gilbert read her book and felt at times irritated and at times inspired. She's a talented storyteller, and most of her story is interesting, though I did get pretty sick of hearing about her post-divorce relationship and ongoing obsession with David. Just when I would think I could listen to no more of her tiresome insecurities and self-absorbed introspection, I would hear something that felt deeply true and resonant. Gilbert's voice was a pleasure.

Sarah Vaughan

I'm not quite sure why anyone would not enjoy this book. I find myself writing down quotes I come across, little snippets of Yogi, Hindu and even Italian wisdom. I enjoy the author's desire to find balance in God and the pleasures of this world, and while I'm not saying (nor do I feel the author is saying) that everyone who reads it will feel a profound change in their lives, it is certainly enlightening on many levels. From the realization that part of loving God is learning to love oneself, to the realization that if you live in America and have eaten in the last 24 hours then your problems are probably not quite as bad as you like to believe, I think anyone from any religious background will find humor and truth behind Gilbert's memoir. I'm already looking forward to reading her other works.

Fatin Allen

I just finished this book in two days. The first time I added it to my TBR, I had no idea what it is about apart from in a blog recommendation. The first time I bought it (at 5€ only!), I still had no idea what it is about. The first time I picked it up from my shelf (a few months after), I read the citations and reviews. Oh no, a real story about a divorced woman who’s on a spiritual journey? Not my kind of book. I put it aside with low expectations starting to plant their seeds in my mind. I picked it up yesterday and couldn’t put it down! I even read it during meal and cooking. I was so hooked up with every part, Italy, India and Bali in their own ways. I like the casually chipped in facts about Italian language and culture, the author’s inner struggle while staying in India and her friendship with Ketut in Bali. Ketut is an endearing person, from what I’ve read. I had a great time reading this.

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

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