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Kim
Rating:
 
Review
Let me start off by saying that I hold memoirs in high regard, as they are often inspirational and honest. Ms. Gilbert's "search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia" does not disappoint either. After her painful divorce and rebound relationship ends, the author decides to take one year off from her life in New York, starting with four months in Rome. She learns the language, meets new friends and experiences culinary delights daily (the trip to Naples for pizza sounds like something I'd like to do), along with working on her inner self. After Rome, she travels to an Ashram in India to further her work on excising her inner demons, and meets more new people, including one unforgettable man named Richard from Texas (who gave her the nickname "Groceries" which cracked me up). There she also learns to be quiet with herself and why she has such a violent reaction to a particular mantra, amongst many other things. Indonesia is next, where she travels to Bali to live with a local medicine man who, two years previously, had invited her to stay with him for four months. Except that when she gets there, he doesn't remember his offer, let alone her! It's not a set back for the author in the least, though, since she's mighty resourceful, and during her stay in Bali, she meets, again, new people who link her to one man in particular, a Brazilian named Felipe. I very much enjoyed Ms. Gilbert's adventurous year rediscovering herself, and look forward to reading her next book, Weddings and Evictions, due out in 2009.
Best Line:
"Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face. You really need to be certain it's what you want before you commit."
Jennifer
Rating:
Review
I love that sweet sort of grief that happens when you finish a really, really good book. I certainly had it with this one. In fact, I think I'll read it again soon, just in case I missed anything good or feel the need to re-read something that hit home with me. Obviously, I feel this is one of the best books I've read in a long time, or ever. I identified with the author on so many levels, having paralleled some of the same heartbreaking experiences. Luckily for her, her journey led her to Italy, India, and Bali. I can thank her, though, for so profoundly and pragmatically leading me through her journey in each of these three places and helping me connect with my own emotional understanding more deeply. The pain, confusion, quest for "something more", and the anxiety of it all are issues and emotions that this author so eloquently wrote about. And in such a forthright, honest way that has made her such a success in this type of book. I learned, I cried, I laughed, and definitely want to read more of her books. I would very highly recommend this to anyone - whether they are male or female, going through a milestone in life or not. It has something for everyone to learn and think about.
Best Line:
"Sincere spiritual investigation is, and always has been, an endeavor of methodical discipline."
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