Sunday Salon: Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert

This is my first post on the Sunday Salon, and I'm currently reading Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert.

I just completed Book One of three within Gilbert's memoir -- the part that focuses on her time spent living in Italy -- and I can't read any further. Well, that is, not until I seek out some Italian cuisine to quell my raging hunger. After reading descriptions of a number of culinary delights found in places like Rome and Sicily, an empty stomach just would not do.

Gilbert's book stirs the appetite, but not just through references to food. Eat, Pray, Love is a delightful romp through Italian history, culture and language, as well as human emotion. I found myself nodding my head in understanding at the sorrows of relationship difficulties, and moments later, learning that the true Italian language sprang from the prose of Dante himself.

In my estimation, Gilbert is a brave, intelligent woman who has set upon a new and exciting adventure, and is having a blast; maybe, authentically, for the first time ever. But, rather than a voyage of distance across three countries, the author also travels through episodes of healing and self-discovery, and we get to share in the journey. Her writing is deeply personal, and it embodies universal themes, such as coping with the pain of divorce, discovering our own personal truths and choosing to live by them, battling with depression and more.

Gilbert's writing style is sharp, witty, and constantly unexpected.

Next stop on the Elizabeth Gilbert train... India, for some soul-searching.