Eat, pray, love [one woman's search for everything across Italy, India & Indonesia]

At 30, Gilbert had everything an American woman was expected to want in order to be happy—a husband, a successful career, a house. She should have been ready to start a family, but, instead, found herself panic-stricken, anxious, confused, and miserable. On the night she lay sobbing on her bathroom floor, Gilbert made the decision to seek a divorce, which became painful and expensive. In order to regain balance in her life, she embarked on a yearlong journey around the world. Selling all of her belongings, Gilbert planned to spend four months in each of three countries that started with the letter "I": Italy, India, and Indonesia. Her first stop is Rome, because she loves the language and wants to experience the exquisite cuisine. She gains pounds and friends before moving on to Mumbai, India, where her goal is to meditate in an ashram. From India, Gilbert travels to Bali, where she hopes to achieve balance. Gilbert recounts her experiences in a mostly upbeat, exuberant manner that is almost infectious. An award-winning, critically acclaimed author, she does a very credible job of reading her own book and lends a degree of authenticity that another voice might not bring. Recommended for all public library collections.—Gloria Maxwell, Penn Valley Community Coll., Kansas City, MO [Page 105]. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

A celebrated writer's irresistible, candid, and eloquent account of her pursuit of worldly pleasure, spiritual devotion, and what she really wanted out of life. . .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.