Mangez Prie L'amour

I have to do it. I have to jump on the bandwagon and admit that yes, not only have I read the book Eat Pray Love once but I am in the midst of re-reading it each morning during my subway ride to work. What's worse, I am now going to use my blog as a means to ride that bandwagon a little further & actually talk about Elizabeth Gilbert's newest literary treasure. Why? Because I liked it.... and I admittedly didn't think I would. Why not? Well, I guess due to the fact that I don't consider myself a trendsetter or even a trend-follower in so far as I've noticed what entertains or seduces the vast majority does not usually amuse me. I'm also a bit rebellious. Certainly a voice inside of me recognized the amount of people caravanning to the movies or nearest bookstore on account of E.P.L. as "great for Gilbert but bad for Micky's determination to keep her individuality in check."

So how did I get here? Suffice it say my roommate had a copy laying around, I adore Julia Roberts & after reading Outliers & two David Sedaris books in a row - I needed a book "just like this." So there it was....

But something like 20 pages in, quelle surprise! I'm hooked - but maybe not for the same reason the mass population of women, all ages, were. Gilbert's story is secondary to me. It is the content of her religious discussion with the reader & more importantly the way she writes that got my attention. I'm in love with it. I quickly realize I have a literary crush on Elizabeth Gilbert. In fact, it may be more accurate to call it a lustful literary infatuation. 20 more pages. Yes, it's infatuation.

My roommate, who's book at this point I am using, gave me the heads up that you "fly through Italy" because of all the food and beautiful imagery but that "India moves a little slower" because it's more introspective, more dedicated to itself. Not to worry, things "pick up again in Bali because she is interacting with Felipe" and more of less closing out this chapter of her life which was spent abroad.

My experience: I flew through every chapter.

I flew so fast that before I finished the last page I was at Border's buying a copy for myself which would allow me to not only re-read this marvelous piece of work but to highlight and post-it note my very own edition. Why was I so hooked?!?

The answer was pretty obvious. If you know my two college majors it would be obvious to you as well (English and Religious Studies, by the way). Here, in one tiny book, was the evidence that something beautiful and so very personal could be written in such a way so that the English language & religions of the world would meet, play with each other & remain unscathed by the human propensity to damage or defame. And while this has been done before in memoirs, biographies or diaries published posthumously - Gilbert did it best, in my opinion.

She is witty, clever, fast-paced, honest, stimulating and (enter envy) non-judgmental. How she managed to write about her heavy experiences with her personal spirituality, the divine, life, friends and that inner-self everyone struggles against WITHOUT passing any judgment or carrying an apologetic tone through each chapter is beyond me. I was more than impressed - I was enthralled.

My one distinct and repetitive wish that follows me through day to day life is to "find the right words." I consistently feel like the passion I have for life paired with my fervor to love everything in site often leave me speechless... in a not good way. I have to search for vocabulary or even sentence structure to endow my message with intellect and poignancy. On rare occasions do I succeed and this makes me sad. I love to speak but I also love to listen & reflect upon what has taken place only then to have a resulting array of magnificent thoughts, provocative emotions & endearing words in my head. The minute I open my mouth however, I feel those thoughts turn spacey or overly logically. My emotions sound jaded and the words become disenchanted. Now, maybe I shouldn't be so judgmental and cautious about my ability to articulate, (or inarticulate) my speech (or lack their of). But it is indescribably frustrating to feel you have something worthy to say and can neither quiet your mind down enough nor vocalize these thoughts with a measure of success that does justice.

In Eat Pray Love, Gilbert did. And I think one reason I am re-reading her novel is to potentially double my chances at this technique rubbing off on me.

I have so many questions for her. I would guess that my questions are different than what most readers would ask her given the chance. The usual array include: "How do you answer to accusations of being selfish?" "Why did you want children with Felipe but not with your ex?" Or other follow up questions to the many intimate details she shares in this new-age style autobiography. My questions are more geared towards Elizabeth Gilbert, the writer. "Did you work on this book all along or only after the year was over?" "Was there any point at which you started to resent this manuscript or the book because of the toll it took on your creativity?" Etc.

This book answered a silent prayer I have offered up for a long time now. Please, let my voice, spoken and written, become a vehicle for the divine - the effortless fountain of love that exists across all religions, all cultures - so that I can find the proper words, the telling words, the encouraging words when I need them, recognizing it takes equal parts patience, eloquence and listening to do so.

There you have it. This is why I enjoyed the book so much & will do so for years as I continue to write and search for my own voice. I highly recommend this book to everyone, regardless of the reason. Wisdom can be found in many layers on each page of this paperback. You will, no doubt, see yourself in Liz more than once & challenge the way she thinks simultaneously challenging yourself. She is really on to something....