This book by Elizabeth Gilbert has become a best-seller, a movie, and a cultural meme. It was devoured and discussed at length by women in the early 2000s.
As with anything that becomes an instant cultural phenomenon, there was a fair amount of backlash. The book has been criticized as out-of-touch, self-indulgent, and tone-deaf. (The premise, traveling around three countries in search of spiritual enlightenment, is out of reach for most women.) The memoir has largely been dismissed by more serious intellectuals and feminists.
At the risk of sounding mainstream and basic, let me defend this book. First of all, it’s a fun read. Gilbert is funny and warm, and she shares intimate details of her ups and downs. When the book begins, she’s 31, which, at the time I read it (in my twenties), sounded worldly and impossibly far away. When she realizes she’s unhappy in her marriage, she decides to get a divorce, and her solo adventures begin.
Even if the reader isn’t in an unhappy marriage herself, she can be inspired by how Gilbert begins a process of listening to her own inner voice and trusting herself. The reader can begin to sense how being alone might not be terrifying. It might, in fact, be liberating.
That’s a pretty valuable lesson to learn in your 20s, even if the book does embody a sense of privilege. If you’re looking for a more woke read, check out some of the other books on this list.