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‘Eat, Pray, Love’ by Elizabeth Gilbert

The sub-title: one Woman’s Search for Everything appealed to me straight away when this book was recommended for my own book club to read. New York journalist Elizabeth Gilbert is having a huge meltdown on her bathroom floor because she doesn’t want to be married, doesn’t want to try for a baby, doesn’t want to be having a huge meltdown on her bathroom floor.

Instead she has a torrid love affair accompanied by a toxic divorce and so, armed with a book deal, sets off in search of three things she has been missing: pleasure, devotion and balance. For the first, she goes straight to Italy. Why go anywhere else? There she learns to be on her own and to eat a lot. If that ain’t pleasure, I don’t know what is.

Next she goes to an ashram in India where she learns to be on her own for a lot longer and scrub floors. She’d already found religion but it kind of bops her on the head, big time, while she’s there.

Finally, she heads for Bali where a toothless medicine man who is possibly 112 teaches her the value of sitting still and smiling.

Elizabeth Gilbert is a good writer with a fab sense of humour so I found the book a great read although I confess I skimmed a bit during the Ashram section. Interestingly, others in my book club particularly devoured the Ashram section but were less enamoured of the Italian part. I guess this makes it a book with a little something for everyone – not to mention a happy ending!

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