Okay, so like a couple of days ago I used a credit to finally see what “Eat, Pray, Love” was all about. And it was mind-blowingly fantastic! Seriously, I did nothing else that day except listen to the book from cover to cover, feeling inspired, feeling joy, feeling like I could do anything I wanted in the world. The wisdom, the emotion, in that book is extraordinary.
So when I saw a book about how other people were inspired to change their lives, I couldn’t click on “Pre-Order” fast enough! I thought: Great! People on the same journey I’d been thinking about!
…meh…
Oh, how disappointing. Basically it’s fan mail and “Eat, Pray, Love” becomes a trite metaphor with people saying, “I thought he was my Felipe. It turns out he was my David.” And “I brought out my Bible: ‘Eat, Pray, Love…'”
It’s wonderful that people were and continue to be transformed; I think that’s fantastic. But really, the stories are so basic: they run anywhere between 2 to 8 minutes, and there’s only so much you can do with so short a window. We don’t really get to know anyone, know their confusion, know their suffering. We don’t really get to know the relief and bliss they find.
Of course you’re not expecting “Eat, Pray, Love” itself. That’s not what you’re looking at when you consider this book. Just don’t expect the same heart, wisdom, pathos either.