Wow wow wow! Just finished reading the absolutely incredible book, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.
How do you actually sum up your favorite book??? How do you do it justice?
I had tried to read this book a number of times when I was younger and just couldn't get into it - although I'd thoroughly enjoyed the movie.
I have no idea what took me so long to finally pick such a gem of a book up and enjoy it totally (perhaps because it starts with her being miserable about her divorce and lately I've been battling my way through my failed engagement) but I am so happy I finally did. What an inspiring piece of writing! It was fascinating to read about all of the places I have already been fortunate enough to visit like Italy and Bali.
In particular, I thoroughly enjoyed the Bali section of the book and it was mind-blowing to read about the Balinese healer Wayan Nuriasih in Ubud who I actually visited during my travels there last year. If you are ever in Bali, please pay this wonderful woman a visit. I have linked my travel story on Bali down below which has a whole section purely dedicated to Wayan and my experience with her. She is unbelievably talented at what she does and I was overwhelmed and a bit spooked out at how accurate she was at diagnosing things that were wrong with me back then! I kid you not, I had a lump in my left breast and I hadn't told anyone about it. This tiny Balinese woman took one look at me, shook my hand and told me straight up, 'You have pain in your left breast.' They were her first words to me. Spooky!!! Read to find out more!!!
Also just read Eat Pray Love if you haven't already. I wish it hadn't ended. What a book!!
There are so many messages and quotes throughout these pages. It offered me so much closure and peace and calmness with my current crazy life situations. There are SO many lessons and situations / feelings to relate to. Elizabeth Gilbert will feel like one of your closest and oldest friends by the time you are finished with it. I look up to her like a sister now and can only hope and pray that one day I am lucky enough to really cross paths with her. She is definitely on the list of people both living / dead that I would want at one of those fantasy dinner parties... right along with Chris McCandless and Cheryl Strayed.
One piece of criticism I would have to say is that I felt like the India section was too educational. There was a lot of spiritual history which yes is wonderful but I would have liked more of her personal story there instead of telling us so much about the history of what she was getting up to. This is possibly also because India is the one place from the book I have not yet been to and I really enjoyed hearing about her experiences in the places I have been to. While I felt that Italy and Indonesia also had heaps of history weaved into her story (which is great) I felt like those sections were more personal??? If that makes any sense at all. But that in no way reduces my mark of a freaking million out of five stars!! :)
