Elizabeth Gilbert (1) (1969–)

I was a bit disappointed by Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert. It left something to be desired. It took me a while to figure out exactly what it was that was missing, but by the end I did: there wasn't enough Elizabeth Gilbert in this book! In my opinion, what made Eat, Pray, Love so wonderful was her humorous and witty observations about the crazy life adventure she was on. But there was too much history and fact in Committed for it to flow as smoothly. Ms. Gilbert's observations and "memoir" were too often interrupted by her (albeit very interesting) discussion about the history of marriage. I just wanted to hear her story about 'Felipe' and their road to marriage. While I learned a lot, and overall did greatly enjoy the book, it felt somewhat disjointed at times. I found myself skimming ahead in search of her more personal writing, and often had to slow myself down and go back to what I was whizzing by.
I received an Advanced Copy of Committed from the small independent bookstore where I work. I was glad to be able to read it before it officially hit bookstores, as, like so many others who loved [b:Eat, Pray, Love|19501|Eat, Pray, Love|Elizabeth Gilbert|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1269870432s/19501.jpg|3352398], I was anxiously awaiting the follow up. And I read it in two or three days, and was very happy for Ms. Gilbert in the end. I feel privileged that I was able to follow along on her journey from divorce and unhappiness to marriage and contentment.… (more)

When I heard Elizabeth Gilbert had a new book out, I had no intention of reading it. Back in the day, I read "Eat, Pray, Love" and had some big issues with it. I haven't read any of Gilbert's work since. Yet, I kept seeing this book *everywhere*. It was like the Sirens composed a new song about this book at kept singing about it trying to lure me in. I caved. Or, maybe you could say that the Big Magic found me.

Instead of representing a voice I wanted to spar with (as in "Eat, Pray, Love") the Gilbert of "Big Magic" was affable, self-effacing, funny, approachable, and inspiring. I don't tend to think of myself as a creative person, but Gilbert defines creativity with a broad brush, making room for everyone. She says that "creative living is living a life driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear." Creativity is saying "I don't know exactly what I am, but I'm curious enough to find out."

The book is a pep talk about having the courage to put oneself "out there" authentically, and explore the amazing/beautiful/crazy world we live it.

"Big Magic" includes a large dose of realism (which I need, as anything that is too "woo-woo" doesn't resonate well with me). My favorite section in the book was the section on persistence and letting go of perfection (my mantra). Gilbert says that "in order to stay in the game, you must let go of your fantasy of perfection" and "we don't have time for perfect." I couldn't agree more.


4 stars
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