Eat, Pray, Love: What's Your Word?

   By drodriguez  Sep 14, 2008
109

New York Times Bestseller Eat Pray Love, has elicited its readers to tell whomever they can, be it stranger or friend, that they “must read this book.” Divided into three parts, each verb in the title corresponds to a country, each of which serendipitously, begins with the letter “I”. And since this is a personal journey for its author Elizabeth Gilbert, this is not so much a coincidence as an affirmation that she’s doing exactly what she needs to be doing.

Part One, Italy is the land where Gilbert perfects her conversational Italian and all the while, Eats. She consumes her food with a passion, seeks out the best each city and region has to offer, her exchange with residents is equally passionate, if not about food, then about living and loving and being.

In part one, her Italian friend invokes the theory that, “every city has a single word that defines it, that identifies most people who live there. If you could read people’s thoughts as they were passing? you would discover that most of them are thinking the same thought. Whatever that majority thought might be ? that is the word of the city.”

Apparently Rome’s word is SEX. (And since the Vatican is technically not part of Rome, its own word is POWER.) New York: ACHIEVE. Los Angeles: SUCCEED. The conversation between the two takes the theory down to smaller entities, ultimately to Gilbert’s. What is Elizabeth Gilbert’s word? At that point, after her year-long journey, she doesn’t know, and as she concedes on this page, that is truly the reason for her traverse around the world. (Ultimately she does find her word, and it’s a pretty good one.)

What is your word? Have you found it? What would you need to do to find it?

Make a Comment

 
SHARE
Comments
armyfamilyof6 by armyfamilyof6 | Fort Campbell, KY
Aug 29, 2007

Nurturing....would be my word. I am always nurturing my 3 children as they grow, in mind, body and spirit, and always taking care of family and friends when they get sick.

carmelgoodies78 by carmelgoodies78 | Kingston, NY
Aug 27, 2007

I COULD NT DESCRIBE MY SELF IN ONE WORD BECAUSE I AM WELL ROUNDED I HAVE A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING THAT COULD DESCRIBE ME: HOPE GRACE SCARED LONELY HAPPY LOVED CONFUSED INSPIRED.HUMAN IS THE ONLY ONE WORD THAT CAN DESCRIBE ALL OF THOSE AND MORE SO MY ONE WORD WOULD BE HUMAN.

happy_me by happy_me | Helotes, TX
Aug 15, 2007

My word is "enthusiasm"

Josie101 by Josie101 | ROCKWELL, NC
Aug 04, 2007

Searching...i feel like i am always serching for something to fulfill me. I just feel lost for a fullfilled life.

artsygirl by artsygirl | Ontario, CA
Jul 31, 2007

My word is Creativity. (Which is not to creative choice, I have to admit, given the fact that I am a professional artist). But I have the need to see things and facts from different perspectives, or multiple perspectives, if there is such possibility. Or invent new things.

pringrl by pringrl | Marlton, NJ
Jul 27, 2007

This was such an inspiring book to me, I could not bear to put it down! I am still working on "my word" but I will say this, if you have not read this book yet (and I was apprehensive about it at first) pick it up. It's a must read for every woman out there!

joann1967 by joann1967 | Norfolk, VA
Jul 21, 2007

My word is Blessed...Because I serve an Awesome LORD who gives me life more abundantly....

workerbee by workerbee | Jackson, NJ
Jul 04, 2007

I have been reading everyone's responses and can only come up with one. "workerbee" like my user name states. I work two jobs, 7 days a week, 5 of those are 13 hour days. Even on those few and far between days off. I cook, clean, volunteer at my church and all of the other mom stuff.

TinaPB by TinaPB | Avon Lake, OH
Jul 01, 2007

My word is "transformation. With age comes wisdom and the ability to pull together everything you've learned in life to make sense of it. I read this book shortly after I started "yoga" and learning how to listen to my inner self. It was fun as well as insightful.

raebay by raebay | dublin, CA
Jun 18, 2007

i loved this book! it was even better when i listened to it on tape as gilbert reads it herself. i have loaned mine out many times. A great summer read.

msjcrew by msjcrew | Boise, ID
May 22, 2007

my word would be....Inspired

timeflys by timeflys | willingboro, NJ
May 22, 2007

Blessed is my word. All creation is gift from God and my life is full of expectation awaiting the "newness" of all I see in this creation. Life is a beautiful thing!!!

mcgarvey32 by mcgarvey32 | GIBBSBORO, NJ
May 21, 2007

My word...Determined. I dont give up, Im determined to live my life to the fullest!

Rae_Mari by Rae_Mari | Livingston, NJ
May 19, 2007

The word for me is: Complicated

fisfall by fisfall | Philadelphia, PA
May 19, 2007

P A R A D O X introvert/extrovert, passionate/ indifferent. thirst for knowledge/ couch patatoe, and the list goes on ;- ) fisfall@gmail.com