I’ve been working non-stop this year and until now had only managed to read bits of different books on plane rides and in the little spare time I had. My current job doesn’t require too much thought, which allows me to listen to music, podcasts, radio shows, and the like. My solution to not reading books is to listen to them. My first audiobook choice for this year is Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

I usually read the book before seeing the film and with all the hype surrounding this one I figured it was worth a try. The book is separated into 3 sections – Italy, India, and Indonesia, each corresponding with the author’s pursuit of pleasure, faith, and the combination of the two. I’m telling you, if I were the type to stop a book in the middle I would have stopped at India! That is my least favorite part of the book as it drags on a bit with her struggles in learning how to clear her mind for meditation. I can pray to God without worrying over whether I am in the right state of meditation, so I found this a bore!

I had a lot of trouble connecting with the author/character in the book. First of all, she is in her thirties so she is in a different stage of life than I in my early twenties. She decides one day that she doesn’t want to be married anymore, so she leaves her husband. I married young, and I would still never consider leaving my husband for the pursuit of my inner self. If I need that I can take a vacation. The only thing I’m missing by being married is not partying as much, and frankly, we do that anyway! We are having fun being young with no kids, but when we are ready we will have them. And I look forward to it! So I definitely could not understand her mindset in any regard.

That being said, I learned a lot from this book, and I respect Liz for sharing about her depression after her divorce and her time of healing. I do recommend that you listen to the audiobook as opposed to reading it, as you cannot hear the richness of the Italian language in your mind, nor can you imagine the accents of all the wonderful people that she meets. I found it calming to listen to this on my car ride to and from work, instead of being all hyped up by my favorite hip hop music ☺ Listening to books is better than not reading at all, so pick up an audiobook at your local library for your next long car ride!

P.S.
If you end up reading Eat, Pray, Love or you already have, check out this site for behind the scenes info about her friends from around the world! I was very sad to find out that Richard from Texas has passes away. ☹ I was very fond of him and he kept India interesting.

http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/eatpraylove.htm