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Eat, Pray, Love,
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Rebecca Connor-Evans
I'm afraid I must become the clichéd female reader here and admit my fondness for this novel. I can appreciate that readers found Gilbert's writing self-indulgent and many of her cultural descriptions are stereotypes, but this is not the point of this book. I feel if you read Eat, Pray, Love at the appropriate time in your life, it will have a profound effect on you. I was going through a very difficult time and I truly believe this book not only pulled me through it but enabled me to see a clear path forward. I treasure it dearly and have returned to it once since to get myself back on track. Yes, it did change my life.
Hollie
Eat, Pray, Love helped me find the courage to leave behind a life, and emotionally abusive relationship, that left me emotionally bone-dry and utterly desolate. There are some critics that may not be able to sympathize with Gilbert, but then there are readers like myself who were reawakened to their own strength after reading her memoir.
DJ
yes it did....taught me not to go by a catchy title!
Lobstergirl
No. However, I did not read the book.
Kelly
I read this book at one of the lowest points in my life. My father had just passed away, and the subsequent stress of that life event caused my already unstable marriage to dissolve. This booked helped me to not feel alone in my grieving process, and to give me a path forward to find my own way. I feel like so many women buy into the path that society lays out for us, but we don't question it unless we must. So many people had such negative reactions, but I think that it was just not the book for them. I am on my own unique path now that honors me as a an individual. We should all aspire to live our own authentic lives.
Laura
It did in that it was an appropriate read for trying time in my own quest of self-discovery. I got to travel with her to places I always wanted to travel, and she mirrored the kind of lifestyle I've always wanted, and got to confirm details she describes in her troubles that frighteningly resembled my own! However, with some of the reviews invalidating the brilliance of her writing, I can only imagine how deprived I am of reading seemingly greater works in the quest of self-discovery and guidance for transcendence.
Chris
No. By the time I was half way through the book I just wanted it to be over with already.
Linda
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Riina Mets-Rava
Yes...the first book I ever felt it was OK to abandon AND throw into the trash. My life is now forever changed. No guilt.
Heather
No it didn't. I had hoped it might, but I'm finding it tough to get through it and might give up! (I know you didn't ask, but if you want to know the book that did change my life it was The Why Cafe, by John Strelecky. A little and powerful book with lots of wisdom and little self-indulgence.)
Kris
Didn't change my life, but opened my eyes to a variety of different cultures . I pay attention to more important aspects of life, and less about the trivial little things.
Jocelyn
I've read through the first third of the book so far and it has enhanced my imagination of the wonderful foods available in Italy. As for the story of self-discovery I do not see it changing my life. As a 29 year old female grad student, I did find her story interesting and somewhat romantic in the sense that she was alone with herself in her journey. I had already taken a path of self-discovery to go back to school, so perhaps it was the wrong time in my life to read it. Despite my lack of strong personal attachment towards her specific journey, I do recognize how the book could empower a different reader to start his or her own journey.
Jeanne
I liked Italy, but I quit amid all the garbage that was India.
Sandy Smith
I may in the future. Reading is helped to be introspective. There are a couple of pages I will copy and keep since I'm sure I'm not the only one that was curious about it and I want to pass it on.
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