This #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestseller is a beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among readers, listeners and reviewers. Read by the Author.
Around the time Elizabeth Gilbert turned thirty, she went through an early-onslaught of midlife crisis. She had everything an educated, ambitious American woman was supposed to want–a husband, a house, 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 eradication of everything she ever thought she was supposed to be.
To recover from all 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, and undertook a yearlong journey around the world–all alone. EAT, PRAY, LOVE is the absorbing chronicle of that year. In Rome, she studied the art of pleasure; India was for the art of devotion; in Bali, she studied the art of balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence.
An intensely articulate and moving memoir of self-discovery, EAT, PRAY, LOVE is about what can happen when you claim responsibility for your own contentment and stop trying to live in imitation of society's ideals. It is certain to touch anyone who has ever woken up to the unrelenting need for change.
Elizabeth Gilbert was a 30-year-old successful journalist with a perfect life (husband, fancy New York City apartment, fabulous weekend home) when she realized she was miserable. After surviving an acrimonious divorce, Gilbert sold her remaining possessions to spend a year abroad--four months each in three countries with nothing in common except starting with the letter "I." The author's reading of this memoir adds depth; she's obviously not a professional narrator, but her vocal presence provides vivid color and quirky humor as she eats (in Italy), prays (in India), and finds love (in Indonesia). This is a delightful memoir that explores exotic countries as well as the author's heart and soul. N.M.C. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
