Oct 16, 2014

The book and movie “Eat, Pray, Love” was written by Elizabeth Gilbert. The story is based on a true story about a woman who divorces her husband, falls in love with another man that she eventually leaves, and from there decides to spend a year traveling in order to find balance.

She spends time in Italy enjoying the local food, and then she travels to India to live in an ashram, finally ending up in Indonesia where she finds passion and intimacy. While the story is a wonderful collection of need for getting back to nature and enjoying life again, the message of the story is that divorce is the solution.

Her marriage appeared to be pleasant while her and her spouse had different needs; her husband wanting to have children and the woman wanting to travel and avoid settling down. Here is why the message of happiness and divorce went wrong in “Eat, Pray, Love.”

Life After Divorce

While the book portrayed life after divorce to be a wonderful adventure, the story may have gotten it wrong. Here is what the book did wrong in expressing happiness and divorce:

• Traveling is worth any sacrifice or cost. This concept in the book implies that leaving your spouse to travel is worth it for your own happiness. In reality, a woman that leave her husband and maybe even children will find that her travels filled a temporary emptiness and will cause your husband and child to move forward without you. Happiness is not found by traveling, but rather by relying on yourself to find happiness no matter where you are.
• The book states that having less on your plate makes you a happier person. In reality, most find that having a busy schedule and various responsibilities can actually make you feel happy, purposeful and appreciate the quieter moments more. The book implies that less on your plate is one less spouse and avoiding life by traveling the world.
• The book states that “Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation.” This implies to people that ruin purposefully created to find something better is good while rather purposeful destruction leads to guilt, regret, and remorse.

“Eat, Pray, Love” may be more of a fairytale and isn’t recommended for the way you actually live your life.