Eat Pray Love

Thursday, 12 August 2010 16:02

Like most 20-something girls’ 5- to 10-year plan, Elizabeth Gilbert thought she had it all figured out until, at least, 30. She was married, had a successful writing career and a beautiful home—all of which, on paper, sound perfect.

By Mary Manchess

But as most of you know, what’s on paper hardly ever transcends to reality. From the start, Gilbert introduces you in her book Eat Pray Love to her most vulnerable, raw self as she lies on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night at 32 years old and realizes that she does not want to start a family nor be married anymore.

The reader follows this travel writer’s journey as she risks her conventional lifestyle in hopes of finding true happiness. But, as Gilbert and the reader learn, happiness isn’t so easy to find, especially if you are a serial monogamous (which is, well, a lot of us).

Rather than solely focusing on her divorce, Gilbert gives you a quick rundown of her emotional roller coaster over the past couple years, which involves a bad, seemingly never-ending divorce battle, a failed love affair and an overall feeling of depression and failure. From this context, she invites you to follow on her yearlong journey to Italy, India and Indonesia to sew the remaining pieces of her torn soul back together while seeking spiritual fulfillment. (Sound familiar? That’s because America’s Sweetheart Julia Roberts is starring in the movie version of this story.)

At her stop in Italy, Gilbert gives herself the best medicine for a broken mind and heart—good food. As she buffets her way through the land of romance and pleasure, she nourishes herself enough to be prepared for four months of prayer and austere rigor in India.

Gilbert seeks spiritual divinity at and ashram where she struggles through hours of meditation in hopes of controlling her churning mind. Then she goes off to Indonesia to study balance with a medicine man and, in turn, finds herself in a love affair with a Brazilian.

Eat, Pray, Love is a beautiful story of self-discovery and how a woman relies on herself and the power of God to give her the strength to be the administrator of her own rescue.

Gilbert’s chatty writing style makes the highs and lows she experiences on this journey extremely relatable. You’ll find yourself wishing you could hold her hand as she fights off feelings of loneliness, guilt and depression and cheering for her when she—well, we don’t want to spoil it. You’ll have to read the book—or watch the movie (out this Friday).

See it at the Regal Cinemas Royal Park Stadium 16 on Newberry Road. Times are: 1pm, 1:30pm, 4pm, 4:30pm, 7pm, 7:30pm, 10pm and 10:30pm.