Okay, I admit it I was a bit late to read this one... whilst I was reading chapter 3 thinking, I wonder if anyone has thought of making this into a movie, Julia Roberts was already planning her premiere frock.

Somehow I managed to miss the buzz, and instead picked this up by chance in the library, but it had a huge impact on me - and in fact I think that it was one of the inspirations that started me on the way to putting together this website.

It's a wonderfully self mocking true story of Elizabeth Gilbert, a woman who supposedly had it all, the career, the beautiful home, the husband, and all she needed to do was to have the baby to make it all complete... supposedly.  So why was she unbelievably unhappy?  I recognise in her retelling my own "deep dark teatime of the soul", as she realised that the life she was living was not her life at all, and that in order to truly "have it all" she had to let it all go.

So for a year (four months in each place) she follows her three dreams: 1) To live in Italy, learn to speak Italian and, well, to learn to eat Italian. 2) To live in India and learn to meditate.  3) To live in Bali, Indonesia, and learn from an ancient medicine man, who inspired her to start her journey in the first place.  

Whether you're already on your own spiritual journey or just love a good laugh I hope you'll enjoy this book.  

I did feel jealous of her as I read the book, not so much for what she was doing exactly, (I mean it didn't have me wanting to run off to an ashram in India,) but I was jealous of her ability to let it all go, her bravery in packing up and roaming the world for a year and just opening up to whatever teaching came her way.  By the end of the book in an odd kind of way I felt proud of her, very keen to see the movie and also that I'd found a great birthday present for all my friends and sisters.

In fact, I might just go and read it again!