Eat, Pray, LoveOne Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia

Self-indulgent? Sure. But Gilbert's warm, relatable, and fun travelogue also suggests that healing oneself merely requires an open mind — no passport necessary.
When the average American woman feels down in the dumps, she might look for solace in any variety of clichéd pick-me-ups: butter pecan, white Zinfandel, Dr. Phil. Not Elizabeth Gilbert. When her world unraveled after a nasty divorce and a torturous love affair, Gilbert pulled out all the stops. Eat, Pray, Love is her memoir of the entire year in which she ditched the drudgeries of everyday life in order to travel and think and devote herself to ... herself. As the book’s title succinctly suggests, Gilbert’s trip encompassed three distinct methods of seeking personal fulfillment and growth: enjoying the food and wine of Italy, practicing discipline and grace in an Indian ashram, and balancing the spiritual and the amorous on the Indonesian island of Bali. As far as depression remedies go, it’s hard to top the marvelously grand scale of Gilbert’s endeavor.

Is such a trip self-indulgent? Of course. Does Gilbert's "me, me, me" set of priorities come off as just a touch narcissistic? Sometimes. But if you're simply looking for vicarious pleasures, Eat, Pray, Love satisfies on many levels. Gilbert nimbly evokes the magic of each of her exotic locales and the myriad delights they offer, but the escapist thrills extend far beyond the confines of a finely crafted travelogue. Her inner spiritual journey resonates just as profoundly as her physical one. Credit Gilbert’s warm and friendly narration, layered with healthy doses of humor and self-deprecation, with making even her most touchy-feely meditation sessions and remarkably informal chats with God (they’re, like, BFFs!) feel entirely relatable. So what if we all can’t traverse the globe like she did? Strip away the pistachio gelato, the intricate Yogic chants and the sparkling Balinese beaches. Healing oneself, Gilbert’s journey seems to suggest, merely requires an open mind. No passport necessary.