TOW #20: Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (IRB)

The desire to experience new ideas, travel to foreign places, and forget preconceived notions is not an uncommon one. This urge is intensified when one is unhappy with their current life. It is sometimes completely necessary to take a step back from reality, from the relationship issues, the expectations that come with age. In her memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, author Elizabeth Gilbert does a phenomenal job re-telling her journey to find herself through a year long trip to three countries she had always wanted to visit: Italy, India, and Indonesia. On this journey, Gilbert intends to cleanse her soul and find who she really is through the balance of worldly pleasures and divine peace. Through the use of figurative language and rhetorical questioning, Gilbert shares her story of overcoming depression and breaking the harmful cycle. This memoir then has the ability to help other victims of depression find similar solutions. As the author describes the situation that nudged her towards her self-searching journey, she uses many metaphors that really capture what she is feeling. She described herself as being "such a diligent soldier for years -- working, producing, never missing a deadline, taking care of my loved ones, my gums and my credit record, voting, etc" (23). Gilbert was responsible for so much in her life, and the comparison to the soldier just shows how truly hard she was working and how dedicated she was to having everything run smoothly. Even on her trip though, the author struggles with depression and loneliness. One particularly rough night, Gilbert personifies these two feelings. "Then they frisk me. They empty my pockets of any joy I had been carrying there. Depression even confiscates my identity; but he always does that" (47). By giving depression and loneliness this persona, she makes the pain seem more tangible and realistic. Depression and loneliness are not easy emotions to explain without the use of figurative language. Along with figurative language, Elizabeth Gilbert uses rhetorical questions to explain her experiences in struggling to find herself. "What was the root of all this despair? Was it psychological?...Was it just temporal, a 'bad time' in my life?...Was it genetic?...Was it cultural?" (49). In order to solve the problem, Gilbert believe she had to find where it came from. I think that this moment was the start of her journey. When she started questioning where the sadness came from, she recognized and accepted that it was there. Later in the book, she again questions depression. In the beginning, Gilbert shared with audiences that one of the reasons her marriage fell apart was a difference of opinion on having children. Gilbert asks, "But what if, either by choice or by reluctant necessity, you end up not participating in this comforting cycle of family and continuity? What if you step out? Where do you sit at the reunion? How do you mark time's passage without the fear that you've just frittered away your time on earth without being relevant?" (95). The insecurities that many people have about children are highlighted here in Gilbert's writing. This novel is so effortless to relate to, because Gilbert is an authentic real person that does not idealize her life. By asking these important questions in her book, Gilbert can create a connection with readers who feel the same way. Then readers will feel as if they are not alone in their situation. While I can relate to this book fairly well, I believe that a more connected audience would be middle-aged women, like Gilbert. The people that have gone through the same experiences will clearly feel stronger about the book. As the reader, I feel like I am learning about myself as the author learns about herself. This book has caused me to look at how I am living my life and if the things I do are what I want. We are about to leave Italy, and I can not wait to see what India has in store.

http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/books/eat-pray-love/