Attraversiamo

I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on "Eat, Pray, Love" in light of its recent book-to-screen adaptation. Okay, so yes, I read the memoir. And like probably millions of others, I liked it. I really did. It was about a year and a half ago that I was at the Baltimore-Washington Airport, standing in one of the compact (or shall we call them travel-sized) bookstores conveniently nestled near my gate. Staring at the paperback section, my well-traveled carry-on (deserving of its own frequent flier miles) at my side, I was on a mission to find something tolerable to read on my flight to Seattle. "Eat, Pray, Love." If the seductive simplicity of the title didn't draw me in, the description on the back cover sure did. "A meditation on love in its many forms—love of food, language, humanity...love of self..." to quote the Los Angeles Times. A story set amidst the cultural beauty of Italy, India and Bali. If there's one thing I love, it's traveling and the personal growth that can occur from it. So as I paid the cashier, I had the creeping suspicion that I was about to embark on a journey beyond the obvious westbound flight I was about to board. That like it or not, this book and I were gonna be on the same wavelength, simpatico.

A lot can happen in one year. This was a theme that had been resounding in my mind at the time, as I felt myself at the precipice of my own soul-searching. It was one that set the stage for the overall "I totally get this" sentiment that echoed as I took in the accounts of self-exploration, pleasure-seeking, and a sheer personal time out that the story of "Eat, Pray, Love" depicts. So yes, I appreciate this book and think that it has been so successful because Elizabeth Gilbert was willing to relay her experiences—painful, pleasurable and in-between—with a voice of honesty and humility. My guess is that the process of writing the book (when it wasn't a painful or challenging endeavor) was a cathartic one for the author. And I think it has become something of the same for some of its readers.

Let me say here that I am well aware that books have been written about far more serious issues, and that personal lives have been cast into upheaval by things like poverty, disease, and social injustice. I am not placing "Eat, Pray, Love" into that literary bucket. Rather, I appreciate it for what it is. A story of a woman's personal path to forgiveness, healing, and ultimately, the love within herself. Here's to finding our own self-truths. Attraversiamo.