Elizabeth Gilbert
For anyone who’s ever had some difficulty in their life, this book’s for you (ha! I sound like a beer commercial). In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert finds herself unhappily trapped in a marriage with no desire to be a wife or to have children. She finds herself agonizing and brooding over these expectations that have become the “norm” in society. What follows is Gilbert’s year-long journey to find peace with herself and the life she’s chosen. She begins her journey in Italy with two goals: to eat and to learn Italian. Four months and forty extra pounds later, Gilbert moves on to India, where she lives in an ashram for another third of a year. There, she struggles with prayer, meditation, and her mind, which she cannot keep from brooding about the last few years of her life. Finally, she makes her way to Bali where she continues her year-long process of healing and learns to open her heart to love again.