Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir, Eat, Pray, Love [1], is one of those comforting books that reassures you you're not alone in being human, flawed, and emotional. It's an excellent book to read while going through some kind of crisis, but even if life is pretty much okay, there is much to love in this journey of self—and world—exploration.
Struggling through a grueling and nasty divorce, Gilbert grows increasingly ill and depressed. She starts to wonder about God and begins to examine her spiritual self. So she decides to take a year to pursue three things in three different countries: pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and balance in Indonesia. As she says, it is an interesting coincidence that each country starts with "I."
In Rome she lingers over delicious meals and thirstily soaks up the language. At an ashram in India, she meditates daily, coming to terms with her inner self in all its intricacies, flaws, and beauty. For the final months, she travels to Bali, spends time with an elderly medicine man, and observes a culture in which balance is of utmost importance. Through it all, Gilbert introduces us to the strange and loving people she seems to attract. If this sounds like some kind of sappy, self-helpish, "I triumphed, so can you!" book, it isn't, so
Gilbert's writing is vivid, intimate, and very funny. She is completely unabashed when describing her own emotional crises, the lows she experienced, and the tumultuous relationships she endured. With equal generosity she shares the joy, triumph, and freedom she gains from her year of exploration.
After reading Eat, Pray, Love, I had the sense that Elizabeth Gilbert was my friend. So when I learned that the book was being made into a movie, I was happy for my new friend, especially since it's being produced by Brad Pitt's production company, which already brought us Running With Scissors [2]. I have my fears about the film, however. It would be a shame if the movie version were to take the complexities of human life in this book and trivialize them so they fit into 100 minutes of nice, neat plot. Also, Julia Roberts is said to be playing [3] the role of Gilbert, which doesn't quite sit right with me. There is something reserved about Julia Roberts, despite that giant, friendly smile, and I have a hard time picturing her chattering away with strangers, voraciously learning the Italian language, or dancing without a care in a Balinese bar.
My recommendation is to read the book—and soon!—before you can't think of Eat, Pray, Love without seeing Julia Roberts' face.
