Eat Pray Love

I know, right? Two book reviews in a row? Again, books on tape rock! As does Eat Pray Love. Over a year ago Oprah told me to read this book. And usually I do what Oprah says, but I just wasn't feeling it with this. I get a little shifty when people talk about things like devotion, meditation, gurus... those words are all outside of my comfort zone. This may well have to do with my general lack of depth. Whatevs. Jess forced the audio book on me for my trip home from Dodge. She said she's listened to it twice. Twice? Whoa.

Well, I too have listened to it twice. It is so good. I'm not kidding. Here's the premise: Liz is a woman in her early 30's going through a horrific divorce and all the depression/anxiety/loneliness that goes along with it. She comes up with the brilliant idea to go on a year long journey in search of pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and a balance of the two in Indonesia. Interesting, right? Add to that a killer sense of humor and an honesty that is totally natural, like she's your best friend. She also does pretty great impressions of the people she meets along her journey, something you only get to experience with the audio book.

I made it through Italy on my drive home from Dodge, and had to call Drew half way home to ask him if we could please take Italian lessons and go to Italy for a month... ya know... when we're rich and what not. He agreed. Score! Liz spends four months in Italy, not visiting museums and cathedrals, but eating. She just practices the language and eats. Hello! That is my type of travel. By the end of her stay she's gained something like 24 pounds and is happier than ever. Yep, my kind of gal. I can't wait to make my own journey to Naples for what is said to be the best pizza in the world.

Next comes India, where Liz stays at the ashram of her guru. You can see why I was a bit skeptical going into this part of the book. If you're wondering, like I was, an ashram is (according to dictionary.com) a secluded building, often the residence of a guru, used for religious retreat or instruction. Liz spends her days meditating, chanting, cleaning the ashram floor, and eating an Indian vegetarian diet. And somehow she makes all of that sound incredibly interesting. She tells hilarious stories about trying to force her mind to quiet into meditation rather than drifting off into thoughts of what color she would paint her meditation room if she actually had a house. I absolutely loved how she made the journey to devotion a real story of struggle to find peace with God. She somehow made things like gurus and ashrams seem totally normal, and at the same time inspired me to find new ways to deepen my own faith, although I don't think that was her intent.

Indonesia is all about finding balance in life... something I could definitely use! Liz spends her days hanging out with an Indonesian medicine man, learning everything he knows. He knows a lot. My favorite quote from the book comes in Indonesia:

"Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it."

I think she finally found balance in her life. If you need more incentive to read the book, listen to this: the movie is coming out and Julia Roberts is playing Liz. OMG. I wish I had heard her reaction when she found out that Julia Roberts would be playing her. Screw balance, Julia Roberts is you in a movie. That's about as good as it gets, right?

In conclusion, read it. Or listen to it. Inspiration and laughs, all rolled into one. I love it. Love it.