For the past five years or more, my reading list had been embarrassingly anemic and it was my sister, Midol, who was responsible for getting me to read again by introducing me to the phenom that was Eat, Pray, Love. Since then, this book has garnered an international following to become a monstrous literary and commercial success… so much that it’s earned its own acronym, “EPL”.
Like many fans of Elizabeth Gilbert, I had eagerly signed up for a pre-order and anxiously awaited the release of what was widely recognized as the sequel of Eat, Pray, Love – Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage. I wasn’t too keen about the book’s title, however, which I thought boring, odd, and too scholarly for what I expected to be another engaging chick-lit read. Unfortunately, my initial suspicion proved to be correct… the book is about as flat as Coke without the fizz! Committed is, in my view, an excruciatingly self-indulgent exercise in tedious self-examination and marriage protest. I liked Gilbert a lot less after reading her follow-up memoir.
Gilbert still is, to me, a luminous writer, and Eat, Pray, Love will remain a perennial favorite on my list. But I should have known, and have been reminded once again, that if you look too closely at your idol, you are certain to find human flaws! I’ve noticed Gilbert's new-age angst and quirks often enough in EPL, but her writing style is so fluid and elegant, like poetry disguised as prose, that it’s hard to pick fault with her hokey messages. That was until I joined the writer’s legions of fans and perused her official website, http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/, where I happened upon this blog-like update of her life:
Readers of EAT PRAY LOVE sometimes ask if I am still in touch with the people I met along the way during that journey, and I am delighted to report that I am in close contact with all of them. In fact, I even married one of them (that nice Brazilian fellow, of course, who now lives with me in New Jersey, bless his heart.)
...
My dear friend Iva Nasr – who, in EPL, encouraged me to write a petition to God about my divorce – is, luckily enough, available to guide others these days in a similar fashion. Check out her website.
http://www.sophiaspeaks.com/
What the heck!
The website basically advertises psychic readings, couched in euphemistic language, for a fee of upwards of $140.
I imagine Nasr getting tremendous referral business from Gilbert’s built-in fan base of Eat, Pray, Love… just not mine. So disappointed that my favorite writer is a sell-out! Arghhh...!
Despite my disappointment, I still plan to see Eat, Pray, Love the movie, starring Julia Roberts (not my favorite actress but I’d have to admit… great casting!) as Gilbert and Javier Bardem as “Felipe”, Gilbert’s book moniker for her post-divorce flame who eventually became her second husband once the dust had settled (his RL name is José Nunes). I’m still curious to see whether the book's appeal can be translated on screen.
Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love movie poster
In the meantime, Gilbert’s ex, Michael Cooper, the man who was the catalyst for the original drama that provided antagonistic inspiration for Eat, Pray, Love, is coming out with his own book published by Hyperion, Displaced, due in stores this fall. It’ll be interesting to read what he has to say about the whole hoopla surrounding his break-up with Gilbert and her publicly memorializing their divorce and its aftermath so graphically and successfully in the form of a bestseller!
http://shelf-life.ew.com/2009/08/20/elizabeth-gilbert-michael-cooper-eat-pray-love-committed/
Blog update as of 09/16/2010: Cooper's deal with Hyperion has been canceled and he is currently shopping for another publisher for his book.
http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/hubby_pray_follow_is_off_jXsMoaywNjgvcYFgZ4cBEM
Blog update as of 09/16/2010: Cooper's deal with Hyperion has been canceled and he is currently shopping for another publisher for his book.
http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/hubby_pray_follow_is_off_jXsMoaywNjgvcYFgZ4cBEM
4 comments:
Gilbert and Nasr have been close friends for over two decades. Iva Nasr is an intuitive, not a psychic, who has a special gift for guiding people to their better selves. Iva has been working as an intuitive for more than a decade. Much like we empower psychologists (which we pay $140/hr without question) or clergy (which we tithe 10% of our income), many receive guidance to a better life through Iva's gift. While, I agree, and so would she, that you're not a good candidate for her services, your misunderstanding is not good reason to discount beautiful voices with timely messages. Respectfully.
Ahhhh, I am sad to read that a mere semantic interpretation, or misinterpretation as it were, has the profound effect of missing out on one of the most dear beings on the planet. She is among the great beauties of this world. Humble and kind, she is gifted with a strong enough intuition to remain connected, despite the labels and chastisement that can come to those with this commitment in this fearful and skeptical world.... and sadly, the fear seems to be mostly of our own inner truths, for which Iva is a gifted mirror.
Iva cared for my body, mind and spirit as I healed my way through graduate school after a trilogy of heartache/break. And she did so in the most supportive and empowering of ways, all most humbly, for peanuts in our little mountain town haven in the hills of North Carolina. And on my graduate school budget, those peanuts were definitely not honey roasted.
As I now practice as an Integrative Wellness Coach with a Master's in Counseling (lots of debt), as a Certified Expressive Arts Therapist, and as a licensed Massage Therapist, it pleases me to know that one of my most dear mentors is, hopefully, doing more than just getting by, and is duly compensated in this world for her immense gifts.
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