Read Eat Pray Love

When I was 15, I gave my father a print of a painting by Thomas Cole of the Hudson River Valley School, depicting a praying man standing in a boat that is about to go over a waterfall. Dad was about the age I am now when I gave it to him, and he loved it because it so aptly portrayed the way he felt about his life at that moment. With two teenaged children and a career that was at the mercy of the Winds of Economic Downturn, he definitely felt like the man on the brink of a Big Tumble Over the Edge.

I was also preparing for the Big Tumble when Cathy loaned me this book. My husband's career had done a 180 degree turn. We caught my older son exploring the unsavory side of the internet which made me physically ill. I couldn't wait to go to bed at night to sleep and just escape it all. Fortunately, I was able to postpone sleep long enough to enjoy Ms. Gilbert's description of her travels both worldly and metaphysical through Italy (a culinary and linguistic adventure), India (a contemplative exploration of her life...fairly painful, but necessary) and Indonesia (her embrace of a balanced life). She has a self-deprecating style that resonated with me and I was pleased that what I thought was going to be a self-help book turned out to be more a traveller's guide to the soul than a how-to manual.

I look forward to reading more of Ms. Gilbert's work in the future.