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I recently finished a book called Books for Living by Will Schwalbe in which he assigned each chapter a different action or phrase and then made book recommendations that corresponded with it.

Most of which I had never read before (out of the 26 I might have read 3??? maybe...).

Naturally it got me thinking about what books I would recommend for those phrases and I've decided to write about my selections here. So, next up...

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Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

This will be one of my more obvious picks. 

Eat Pray Love was released in 2007 and adapted into a movie in 2010 which is when a lot of people took notice of it. 

It is the story of one woman's journey to find herself after a painful divorce and an overwhelming battle with depression. Upon reaching her breaking point she decides to take a year to go in search of her own happiness. She spends time eating in Italy, praying in India, and falling in love in Bali. 

There were times when I did find the ease of Gilbert's journey slightly grating. Not many of us have the ability to take a year off work and travel the world without having to worry about having a job or friendships or MONEY when we returned home. I even remember there was a scene while in Italy that Gilbert writes about spending more on lingerie then what one person would spend on a round trip ticket to New York City! I think I had to put the book down for a minute after reading that part.

But the moments that spoke to me, were the ones in which Gilbert was honest and vulnerable in speaking about her depression. The pain that she suffered, and the loss of identity she felt, were both very real struggles that I believe we can all relate too on some level.

Throughout Eat Pray Love Gilbert is searching for self acceptance, spiritual intimacy, and the confidence and strength to learn to love again. Now, I'm a firm believer that it would be detrimental for most of us to completely check out of our lives and travel abroad in order to find ourselves. But I also believe that the journey, evolution, and eventual lessons learned would be similar in the end.

At least I hope they are.