Committed, by Elizabeth Gilbert - a book review

As a wife, mother and previous lover of anything Elizabeth Gilbert, I am sad to  say that I am having tremendous difficulty getting through Gilbert's latest bestseller, Committed.

I too, was very scared to enter my marriage, especially after having survived two previous divorces, so I thought I might gather some inspiration from Ms. Gilbert as she "makes peace with marriage" (as the sub-title proclaims.  After all, I found tremendous inspiration in Eat, Pray, Love.

Eat, Pray, Love is listed as one of my all-time favorite non-fiction  books.  There was courage, inspiration, tears, heartbreak, laughter, humility and love in those pages.  I read the book and carried it around for days, as I didn't want to lose the flavor.

Committed has not hit me the same.  I hear Ms. Gilbert whining and complaining about a very real situation many people are facing in our country.  Loving someone who can't enter the country because of Homeland Security.  Only problem is, most of them are unable to financial accommodate themselves with a year of traveling TOGETHER.  Ms. Gilbert loses scope of that very quickly and sinks into crybaby mode... briniging to mind, she spent many of the first pages in Eat, Pray, Love in the same vein.

I must declare, that not all was annoying about Committed.  I adored Gilbert's stories from some of the families and women in the villages she visited and interviewed about marriage in her travels with Felipe (her now husband).  The wisdom and clarity they shared in the most matter-of-fact and uncomplicated of terms, typically made me feel light from the beauty in their simplicity and wisdom.

I do wish she talked about Felipe more.  He seems hilarious and when she quoted him, I could almost see his attitude and twinkle - even though I have never met or seen him.  The tiny morsels she feeds us of him, made me hunger for more.  He has a totally different zest for life than she does.  While she's the gypsy, he's the comfortable bed you miss when you're away.

Committed is a very real and raw account of Gilbert's internal trials about getting married, I do think that there are a lot of people who will get a lot out of her imparted lessons and the journey she shares.